TE  or 


\f  Galveston  Briefly  Described. 

2.  Galveston  as  a  Railroad  Center. 

3.  Banking,  Loans,  Real  Estate,  Insurance. 

4.  Maritime  Trade  of  the  City. 
£.  Cotton  Trade  of  the  City. 

6.  General  Trade  of  the  City. 

7.  The  City's  Progress  in  Manufactures. 

8.  The  State  of  Texas. 


With    Illustrations    Showing   the   Architecture   and   Appearance   of 
Galveston,  and  the  Scenery  of  the  State. 


Edited  by  Andrew  Morrison  for  Geo.  W.  Engelhardt. 

Copyrighted  1890. 


GALVESTON— PAST  AND  PRESENT. 


©ntjelhar&t  -Series :     'Htfmerican  (Siftes. 

.Br  ANDREW  MORRISON. 


THE  PORT  OF  GALVESTON. 


geographical  or  social  distinctions  were  once  defined  by 
the  terms  "  the  East  "  and  "  the  West "  applied  to  the  States  of  the 
Union,  they  describe  now,  sections,  in  many  particulars,  of  widely 
variant  industrial  conditions.  The  two  divisions  have  the  common  bond  of 
federation  and  nationality,  but  their  commercial  interests,  over  so  vast  a  realm, 
are  far  from  identical,  and  in  many  respects  are  decidedly  antagonistic;  just 
as  debtor  and  creditor  have  amicable  relations,  but  occupy  adverse  ground. 

The  East  is  compactly  peopled.  The  West,  while  a  fourth  at  least,  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  country,  is  dispersed  over  its  prodigious  area,  is  but  sparsely 
settled  yet.  The  East  has  its  lands  partitioned,  and,  as  a  whole,  highly  cultivated 
and  improved.  The  West  has  spacious  provinces  still  unconditioned,  and  an 
agriculture  involving,  in  many  parts,  costly  works  of  irrigation  and  novel  meth- 
ods of  tilth.  The  East  has  its  resources  largely  determined  and  utilized.  The 
West  is  revealed,  by  the  shallow  surveyance  already  made,  and  not  half  its 
superficies  fairly  explored,  indescribably  endued  with  natural  wealth. 

The  East  dominates  in  trade,  manufactures,  finance,  transportation,  and  coun- 
cils of  State.  And  the  West,  with  its  infant  industries  and  inceptive  projects,  is 
chiefly  indebted  to  it  for  the  means  to  pursue  them,  as  it  likewise  is  for  the  migra- 
tion, which,  proceeding  out  of  the  older  States,  arterializes  the  new.  The  East 
has  splendid  and  opulent  cities,  adorned  with  the  triumphs  of  architecture  and  art  ; 
great  capitals  of  fashion  and  luxury,  as  well  as  of  commerce ;  established  cen- 
ters of  institutions  and  ripened  civilization.  In  the  West,  where  all  is  evolution 
and  transition,  the  essays  at  these,  in  the  main,  are  inconsiderable  yet.  The  one, 
in  short,  is  the  blossom  of  progress ;  the  other  its  bloom. 

But  the  blossom  is  one  of  glorious  promise  as  a  full-blown  flower.  The  West, 
we  may  assume  for  argument's  sake,  is  the  trans-Mississippi  region,  although  it 
may  be  more  accurately  divided  perhaps,  at  the  92nd  Meridian,  from  which  the 
industrial  conditions  graduate,  much  like  the'  modifications  of  climate  from  the 


equatorial  line.  This  West  then,  beyond  the  Mississippi,  embraces  826,000,000  acres 
or  67  per  cent  of  the  Union.  It  has  a  demesne  of  forest  broader  than  all  the  British 
Isles.  It  is  the  principal  source  of  the  World's  supply  of  the  precious  metals. 
Colonization  of  it  proceeds  faster  than  anywhere  else  on  Earth.  And  measured 
by  the  productive  capacity  of  an  equal  area  of  Europe,  it  would  support  easily, 
if  its  arable  lands  were  as  thoroughly  tilled,  240,000,000  souls. 

With  a  little  less  population  than  Spain — about  15,000,000, — it  had  a  sur- 
plus of  the  staples  of  husbandry  in  1889,  worth  more  than  the  entire  revenue 
of  that  proud  and  ancient  power.  The  estimate  of  its  production  of  the  four 
leading  staples  that  year,  in  round  numbers  was :  Cattle  4,990,000,  cotton  2,000,000 
bales,  wheat  242,000,000  bushels,  corn  1,001,500,000  bushels.  The  estimated 
excess  of  these  products  over  consumption  was  4,170,000  cattle,  1,950,000  bales  of 
cotton,  169,000,000  bushels  of  wheat,  and  785,500,000  bushels  of  corn;  or  reduced 
to  tons,  28,637,722,  enough  to  freight  9,545  vessels  of  3,000  tons  each. 

And  yet,  notwithstanding  this  extraordinary  surplus,  farm  mortgages  accumu- 
late the  labors  of  Sisyphus  for  the  cultivators  of  the  soil  in  some  of  the  most  fruitful 
districts  of  the  West,  and  they  have  been  driven  to  the  expedient  of  making  a  fuel 
of  their  corn.  Multifarious  circumstances  conjoined,  have  produced  this  situa- 
tion, but  the  opinion  is  concurrent  that  it  arises  largely  from-  inadequate  outlets 
for  exportation.  The  ports  of  the  Pacific  are  too  far  distant  from  the  World's 
great  markets  to  be  generally  available.  Those  of  the  Lakes  are  winter-bound, 
and  those  of  the  Gulf  and  Southeastern  seaboard,  of  insufficient  accommodations 
for  the  shipping  required.  And  although  the  West  has  a  quarter  of  the  railroad 
mileage  of  the  world,  and  nearly  half  of  that  in  the  country  at  large,  transporta- 
tion charges,  over  the  distances  that  must  be  traversed  to  the  North  Atlantic 
Coasts,  are  practically  an  embargo  upon  its  foreign  trade. 

The  West,  clamoring,  by  special  convention,  for  removal  of  these  disabilities 
has  been  heard  at  the  seat  of  government.  A  commission  of  Engineers,  ordered 
to  find,  on  the  Texas  Coast,  a  site  for  a  harbor  nearest  to  all  points  inland  lu>yond 
the  Mississippi,  has  made  choice  of  the  PORT  OF  GALVESTOX.  That  city,  slowly, 
accreting,  like  the  shelf  of  the  sea  on  which  it  is  founded,  has  been  known  hitherto 
as  the  furthermost  American  cotton  port,  second  in  rank  of  those  in  the  South. 
and  as  the  foremost  city  of  Texas.  The  certainty  of  an  appropriation  of  $6,2oo.- 
000  by  Congress,  to  complete  the  improvement  of  its  harbor,  long  under  way, 
ordains  it,  at  length,  the  SEAPORT  OF  THE  WEST,  and  unfolds  it  a  destiny  of  mar- 
itime ascendancy,  of  grandeur  and  of  power. 


GALVESTON    BRIEFLY   DESCRIBED. 


THE  ISLAND,  BAY  AND  PORT. 

ALVESTON  ISLAND  rises 
from  the  foam  of  the  Mex- 
ican Gulf,  where  it  lashes 
the  coast  of  Texas,  about 
sixty  miles  southwest  from 
the  Louisiana  line,  a  long, 
low,  narrow  bank  of  sand,  stretching,  as 
it  seems  from  the  open  sea,  leviathan-like, 
motionless,  upon  the  heaving  waters.  It 
bears  away  from  Northeast  to  Southwest, 
with  an  extreme  width  of  three  miles  and 
length  of  twenty-eight,  and  lies  so  low  that 
a  single  fathom's  rise  of  the  inconstant 
sea,  might  easily  submerge  it.  Bolivar 
Peninsula,  a  slender  strip  of  the  mainland, 
prolonged  Southwest  so  that  it  nearly 
aligns  it,  is  the  counterpart  of  the  island 
in  all  but  complete  isolation,  and  these 
two  natural  storm-barriers,  breakwater 
the  bay  of  Galveston,  which  has  an  area 
of  455  square  miles.  The  entrance  to  the 
bay  is  between  them.  It  is  about  a  mile 
and  a-half  wide,  and  has  thirteen  and  a 
quarter  feet  least  depth  at  the  bar.  Just 
inside  it  is  the  harbor,  a  basin,  by  official 
measurement,  affording  463  acres  of  thirty- 
foot  anchorage,  and  1,304  of  twenty-four. 
Government  improvements  of  both  bar 
and  channel  are  now  in  progress. 

The  Island  itself  is  largely  desert,  and 
as  rude  a  creation  as  ever  was  summoned 
out  of  the  depths.  Artesian  soundings 


disclose  it  a  concreted  mass  of  marine 
debris,  clay-marl  chiefly,  thinly  coated 
with  sand  and  disintegrated  shell.  Inlets, 
bayous  and  lakes  intersect  it,  but  much  of 
its  surface  is  as  barren  as  if  fresh  from  old 
Neptune's  hand.  It  is  however,  gener- 
ally, though  scantily  clothed,  with  stunted 
sylva  and  indigenous  brush,  and  the  gay 
patches  of  garden  and  thrifty  truck  farms, 
scattered  here  and  there  upon  it,  are  indi- 
cations that  its  soil  is  kindlier  disposed  to 
verdure,  than  at  the  first  sight  it  would 
seem.  And  out  of  this  same  sterile  soil, 
at  the  uppermost  end  of  the  Island, 
spreading  the  full  width  of  it  there  from 
bay  shore  to  sea  shore,  up  springs  the 
city  of  Galveston,  the  very  flower  of 
Texas  cities,  expanding  gloriously,  if 
slowly,  among  the  brilliant  blossoms  of 
Civilization  in  that  garden  of  the  South- 
west, like  its  own  oleander,  the  South 
Sea  rose. 

Very  lovely  is  Galveston,  this  Oleander 
City  of  Texas,  far  from  destitute  of  either 
picturesque  prospects  or  urban  charms. 
Far  different  too,  its  aspects,  from  those 
at  its  genesis,  in  1837,  when  it  was  visited 
by  the  distinguished  ornithologist  Audo- 
bon,  who,  beholding  nothing  more  invit- 
ing, of  its  site,  than  marsh  and  mud  flat, 
and  its  only  rara  avis  disporting  in  the 
well-ruffled  plumage  of  the  then  new- 
made  Lone  Star  Republic,  "was  not 
much  impressed  with  the  place."  The 
morass  he  saw  has  been  converted  since, 


(i 


THE   CITY   OF  GALVESTON. 


partly  by  filling  and  partly  by  dredging, 
into  solid  quays  and  docks,  along  which 
compact  lines  of  warehouses,  compresses, 
factories  and  freight  yards,  stretch  away 
for  a  couple  of  miles. 

The  languor  of  a  perennial  summer 
land  may  pervade  its  embowered  resi- 
dence precincts,  but  the  port  of  Galveston 
is  instinct  everywhere  with  varied  phases 
of  maritime  traffic.  Out  here  on  the 
wharves,  where  the  welkin  creaks,  like  a 


land  ;  and  here,  where  swart  Piscator  is 
idling  the  hours  away  angling  for  crabs 
and  pan-fish,  the  mosquito  fleet,  a  maze 
of  coasters,  steam  and  sail,  is  relieved  of 
its  burthens,  —  shingles  and  cordwood 
from  the  Sabine  region,  sugars  from  Bra- 
zoria,  wool  and  hides  and  horns  from 
Corpus  Christi,  Black  Warrior  coals,  and 
Kennebec  ice,  cedars  and  fustic,  perhaps, 
from  the  Carib  Sea,  and  Mexican  ixtle. 
At  all  these  docks,  shipping  and  rail- 


RESIDENCE    OF   A.    WEIS    OF    WEIS    BROS. 


plague  of  frogs,  with  the  echoes  of  maul 
and  capstan  and  horse-hoist,  drowning  the 
hoarse  rejoinders  of  seamen  to  landsmen, 
and  the  air  is  heavy  with  odors  of  hemp 
and  tar  and  bilgy  effluvia,  brawny  black- 
skinned  longshoremen  swarm,  dispatching 
the  lading  of  sea- tramps.  It  is  here  that 
the  cotton  and  cotton-oil  cake,  destined  to 
feed  the  looms  and  the  herds  of  Europe, 
Is  exchanged  for  the  wines  of  Bordeaux, 
the  coffees  of  Rio,  the  hardware  of  Shef- 
'  field,  the  Portland  cements,  and  the  tiles 
'and  glassware  of  Antwerp. 

It  is   there  yonder,   the    shallops'  land, 
the  oysters  and   truck  of  the   main- 


road  meet,  and  all  along  shore,  are  scenes 
of  animation  and  bustle  and  commotion. 
Even  there,  out  where  Ariel  sportively 
ripples  the  stream,  eddying  the  scum  and 
the  drift  ashore,  where  the  passing  cloud 
and  the  bellying  sail,  and  "  the  yachts  that 
float  with  pinions  spread,  like  the  birds 
of  passage  overhead,  are 'imaged  faintlv 
as  in  a  glass" — there  too  are  purring  tugs 
in  their  harness  of  hemp,  with  funnels 
belching  inky  smoke,  straining  a\vav  at 
ponderous  tows,  as  if  perforce,  they  must 
bear  them  bodily  out  to  sea.  For  it  is  at 
the  port  of  Galveston,  that  as  exuberant 
an  empery  of  Nature  as  there  is  in  the 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


New  World,  pours,  from  its  horn  of 
plenty,  its  contributions  of  textiles 
and  provisions  and  breadstuffs,  to 
clothe  and  sustain  and  enrich  the 
Old. 

DISTINGUISHING    CHARACTERISTICS. 


THE  traveler  approaching  Gal- 
veston  from  the  mainland  by  rail, 
over  either  of  the  trestles  that  bridge 
the  shoals  of  the  bay,  beholds  the 
city  first  in  the  least  inviting  of  its 
aspects.  But,  as  the  docks  where 
the  depot  is,  draw  nigh,  it  is  evident 
that  the  salt  ponds  and  tide  lands, 
that  are  such  conspicuous  features  of 
the  landscape,  have  commercial,  if 
not  picturesque  perspectives.  This 
part  of  the  city  is  given  over  for 
terminal  grounds,  to  the  three  great 
Southwestern  railroad  systems, — 
Gould's,  the  Southern  Pacific  and 
Santa  Fe, — that  connect  at  the 
wharves  with  the  merchantmen  fre- 
quenting the  port. 

Our  passenger  by  train  is  deposited  in 


NEW   CITY   HALL. 


RESIDENCE  OF   G.    H     MENSING,    OF   MENSING   BROS.    &   CO. 


the  midst  of  the  business  quarter,  which, 
with  its  salients  of  water  front  piers  and 
causeway,  is  projected  over  the  area  of  at 
least  a  hundred  squares.  The  wholesale 
district  covers,  compactly,  twenty-five  of 
these.  Imposing  magasins  of  trade, 
here,  in  one  instance  extending  the  full 
length  of  a  block,  give  to  this  part  of  the 
city  a  decidedly  metropolitan  character, 
and  it  is  easy  to  credit  the  statement,  in 
view  of  the  show  the  warehouses  make, 
that  three  of  the  jobbing  houses  of. the 
city  do  a  business  aggregating  $6,500,000 
a  year.  One  street,  the  Strand,  so-called 
because  it  marks  the  inner  line  of  reclama- 
tions from  the  bay,  is  occupied  generally 
by  the  houses  engaged  in  the  various 
branches  of  the  traffic  in  cotton — factors, 
exporters,  buyers,  brokers  and  the  like. 
The  offices  of  the  steamship  lines  that 
carry  the  staple  as  freight,  the  importers, 
the  banking,  insurance  and  other  financial 
concerns  of  the  city,  are  also  upon  it.  or 


3 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


on  the  parallel  thoroughfare  beyond,  and 
the  intersecting  streets.  Factories  and 
cotton,  coal,  and  lumber  yards,  flank  this 


board  and  crystal  glazing;  which  glazing 
mirrors  the  passing  throng. 

And  images  all  the  contrasts    of  condi- 


RESIDENCE   OF   GEORGE    SEALY,    OF   BALL,    HUTCHINGS    &    CO.,    BANKERS. 


district  as  far  out  as  the  new  manufactur- 
ing quarter  of  the  West  End. 

Back  of  this  realm  of  Commerce-in- 
Bulk,  is  its  life-like  diminutive,  the 
domain  of  the  shop-keeper  of  Galveston. 
Here,  aggregated  upon  three  long,  and 
from  the  rectangular  plan  of  the  city  sur- 
vey, straight  streets,  are  representatives  of 
all  the  ancient  and  honorable  guilds  and 
crafts,  antedating  the  rise  of  the  jobber: 
Messrs.  Mercer  and  Draper  and  Cord- 
wainer — next  neighbors  to  Mme.  Modiste 
and  M.  Perruquier, — Sir  Leech  and  Sir 
Knight  of  St.  Crispin.  Or,  to  descend 
from  metaphor  to  every  day  terms,  the 
quarter  of  retail  dry  goods  dealers,  gro- 
cers, shoemakers,  milliners,  druggists, 
pawn-brokers,  barbers,  restaurants  and 
hotels.  Here  are  the  big  department 
stores,  carrying  as  varied  a  stock  in  trade 
as  anywhere  under  the  sun,  gay  with 
extrinsic  embellishment  of  gilded  sign- 


tion,  complexion,  occupation,  and  cos- 
tume, a  Southern  seaport  can  show : 
Sailors  in  shore  togs,  cowboys  in  from  the 
range ;  hawkers  of  smuggled  fabrics, 
fakirs,  tourists,  mendicants ;  darkies  in 
tatters,  butterflies  of  fashion  tricked  out 
in  the  latest  mode ;  fustian  and  jeans 
everywhere  elbowing  purple  and  fine 
linen,  like  the  push-carts  in  the  roadway 
obstructing  the  progress  of  the  sumptuous 
equipages  of  wealth  and  state.  All  this 
and  very  much  more,  instantaneously 
imprinted  ;  and  disclosed  by  the  sunlight 
flashing  alternately  from  show  window 
on  this  side,  to  show  window  on  that. 
Ending  here  where  honest  traffic  degener- 
ates into  pitfalls  for  Jack  Ashore.  And 
exhibiting,  side  by  side,  the  social  extremes 
of  city  life. 

Nothing  provincial  the  night  scenes 
here,  in  the  balmy  winter  season,  when 
the  cotton  "is  moving"  and  the  streets 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


are  alive  with  "  samplers  "  and  "  screw- 
men,"  spending  prodigally  a  weekly 
stipend  that  would  be  considered  a  hand- 
some recompense  in  many  of  the  learned 
professions.  Nothing  appai'ent  here  that 
the  retail  trade  of  the  city  is  circumscribed 
at  all  by  its  insular  position,  as  by  some 
it  is  said  to  be.  Crowds  on  the  corner, 
at  yon  stand  of  the  pinchbeck  vendor. 
Crowds  at  the  theatre  door.  Crowds 
surging  by.  Shop  doors  wide  open. 
Lights.  Music.  A  little  Vanity  Fair, 
like  Broadway  and  the  Bowery  in  minim. 
Galveston,  as  yet,  makes  little  preten- 
sion to  the  monumental  in  architecture. 
It  has  some  types,  however,  distinctive 
among  its  public  edifices,  for  a  certain 
strength  of  design  and  simple  effective- 
ness, if  not  also  of  grace  and  originality. 
The  Cotton  Exchange  is  one  of  these, 
and  is  also  a  building  becoming  the  rank 


of  the  port  in  the  trade.  The  Custom 
House,  with  its  shapely  tower,  is  a  some- 
what stately  structure,  and  there  are  ele- 
ments, at  least,  of  the  impressive  in  the 
long  facades  of  the  Ball  and  Rosenberg 
Schools,  to  which  an  additional  interest 
attaches,  in  the  fact  that  they  were  gifts 
from  the  public-minded  millionaire  resi- 
dents, whose  names  they  respectively 
bear.  Many  of  the  business  fronts  of 
Galveston  are  disfigured  by  the  ever-pres- 
ent wooden  awning,  extending  out  to  the 
curb.  The  elevations  of  the  Masonic 
Temple  are  thus  barbarously  obscured. 

The  forty-three  residence  blocks  of 
Galveston,  swept  clean  by  the  fire  of 
1885,  have  been  almost  entirely  rebuilt. 
This  restoration  has  been  made  in  the 
architectural  styles  prevailing  since,  and 
it  has  given  to  the  residence  quarter,  in 
conjunction  with  the  additional  building 


JOHN    SEALY    HOSPITAL   AND    STATE    MEDICAL    COLLEGE. 


10 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


improvements  of  the  last  few  years,  a 
new  and  modern  face.  Some  few  exam- 
ples are  left  yet,  however,  of  the  old  time 
broad-verandaed,  Grecian  pillared,  South- 
ern home,  surviving  amidst  its  surround- 
ings of  innovation  and  transition,  like  its 
occupants  of  the  old  school,  in  a  new  day 
and  generation.  The  costly  mansions  of 
Galveston,  new  and  old,  bear  out  the 
assertion  frequently  made,  that  the  city, 
long  since  recovered  from  the  waste  of 
war,  is,  for  its  population,  one  of  the 
richest  in  the  world.  There  are  two  at 
least  of  its  homes,  the  Gresham  and  Sealy 
residences,  truly  palatial. 

In  August,  1886,  a  phenomenal  tidal 
wave  crept  into  the  very  heart  of  the 
city,  nipping  in  its  course,  as  if  by  a 
Northern  frost,  the  beautiful  but  tender 
oleanders  that  formerly  hedged  the  high- 
ways. It  is  to  be  regretted  that  they  were 
never  replanted  in  the  streets ;  but  they 
flourish  again  as  luxuriantly  as  of  old, 
along  with  the  rose,  the  magnolia  and 
jasmine,  in  every  garden.  Such  an 
encroachment  of  old  Ocean  is  unlikely 
to  happen  again,  for  the  island  is  be- 
yond the  usual  path  of  the  equinoctial 
storms,  and  the  formation  of  the  beach 
is  such  as  to  break  the  force  of  the  angry 
waves. 

And  such  a  beach  as  it  is  !  Stretching 
for  thirty  miles,  from  end  to  end  of  the 
island.  A  firm,  hard  driveway,  smoother 
than  any  asphalted  road.  And  breaking 
upon  it,  its  entire  length,  a  surf,  in  which 
all  the  sun-baked  denizens  of  midland 
Texas  might  disport,  if  they  wished. 
With  its  Beach  Hotel  and  Pagoda  baths 
for  these  sojourners.  Boulevard,  sea- 
ward prospect  and  public  baths,  within 
the  very  gates  of  the  city.  A  Commons 
such  as  no  other  possesses.  And  over  all 
the  radiant  Southern  sun,  his  beams  tem- 
pered by  the  cool  Gulf  breeze.  Over  all 
the  blue  empyrean  or  the  star-lit  vault. 
And  in  this  setting,  Galveston,  the  Gem 
of  the  Gulf. 


HISTORY    AND    GROWTH. 

THE  Island  of  Galveston  figures  in 
American  history  first  in  the  romantic  age 
of  Spanish  discovery,  and  it  has  been  the 
scene  of  casual  events  that  incidentally, 
but  inseparably  connect  it,  with  the  rise 
and  decline  of  the  Spanish  power. 

While  the  all-conquering  Hernan  Cortes 
was  still  engaged  in  subjugation  of  the 
Aztecs,  Pineda,  a  captain  in  the  service 
of  the  governor  of  Jamaica,  was  circum- 
navigating the  Gulf  from  Yucatan  to 
Florida  ;  seeking,  in  accordance  with  the 
dim  impressions  prevailing  then  respecting 
the  continent,  a  passage  to  the  Pacific,  and 
thence  to  the  Indies.  He  explored  care- 
fully every  bay  and  inlet  on  his  way ; 
among  the  rest,  doubtless,  the  bay  of  Gal- 
veston. 

In  1527,  Narvaez  was  commissioned  to 
extend  the  Empire  of  Charles  the  Fifth  in 
the  unknown  lands  of  the  West.  The 
circumstances  of  his  appointment  made 
him  the  especial  rival  of  Cortes,  by  whom, 
on  a  prior  occasion,  his  projects  were 
boldly  thwarted,  and  he  himself  returned 
amain  to  port  from  the  high  seas.  He  set 
sail  this  time,  however,  from  Cuba,  in 
force,  but  the  strength  of  his  expedition 
was  very  much  wasted  by  innumerable 
adversities  sustained  in  the  Everglades  of 
Florida;  and  he  finally  entrusted  his  per- 
son and  fortunes,  in  a  frail  makeshift  of  a 
craft,  one  of  a  number  of  cockles  com- 
prising his  fleet,  to  the  open  Gulf  —  a 
gulf  destined  to  be  a  Gulf  of  Oblivion  for 
him,  in  which  his  star  should  be  extin- 
guished forever. 

In  a  terrible  storm,  somewhere  off  the 
mouths  of  the  Mississippi,  his  boat 
foundered,  and  he  was  drowned  ;  and  the 
expedition  was  scattered,  literally  to  the 
four  winds  of  heaven.  A  single  boat's- 
crew  of  survhors  sought  refuge  on  Gal- 
veston Island — :i  sorry  enough  asylum, 
betwixt  the  range  of  the  red  cannibals  of 
the  mainland,  and  the  deep  sea.  The 


12 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


savages  at  first  treated  them  with  kindness, 
but  afterwards  with  extreme  cruelty,  pro- 
voked very  likely,  by  their  own  ungra- 


The  Isle  of  Misfortune,  Galveston 
remained,  until,  in  course  of  time,  that 
disparaging  title  was  converted  into  Isla 


RESIDENCE   OF   B.   ADOUE,    BANKER. 


cious  conduct.  A  remnant  of  fourteen 
was  held  in  captivity  for  six  long  years, 
and  in  remembrance  of  their  sufferings, 
past  and  present,  they  called  their  prison 
Misfortune  Island. 

Four,  at  length  escaped,  de  Vaca, 
Castillo,  Dorantes  and  a  negro,  and  beset 
with  perils  all  the  way,  traversed,  in  the 
guise  of  "  medicine  men,"  the  wearisome 
breadth  of  the  continent,  to  the  settle- 
ments of  their  kinsmen  on  the  Gulf  of 
California.  There,  afterward,  the  negro 
enlisted  with  Coronado  for  that  chimerical 
quest  of  his,  of  the  fabled  Madre  de  Oro, 
and  its  seven  treasure  cities  of  Cibolo  ;  in 
pursuance  of  which  wild  goose  chase,  he 
is  believed  to  have  scaled  the  lofty  peaks 
of  Colorado,  and  crossed  the  trackless 
prairies  of  Kansas.  Thus,  three  centuries 
and  a  half  ago,  the  first  Christian  denizen 
of  the  Island,  penetrated  the  hostile 
regions  that  are  bound  now  to  Galveston, 
with  iron  bands  of  trade. 


Blanca,  an  epithet  suggested  doubtless, 
to  the  mariners  of  the  Gulf,  by  its  barren 
stretches  of  sea-bleached  sand.  And  at 
some  particularly  propitious  phase  of  the 
seasons,  it  must  have  been,  that  it  was 
styled,  again,  the  Isle  of  Aranjuez,  which 
name,  a  corruption  of  the  Latin  for  "Altar 
of  Jove,"  was  borrowed  from  a  charming 
resort  of  the  Spanish  court.  The  bay, 
meanwhile,  had  been  christened  Espiritu 
Santo,  a  name  profaned,  while  it  served 
to  harbor  those  scourges  of  the  Spanish 
Main,  the  Dutch  and  English  and  mongrel 
buccaneers  of  the  seventeenth  and  eight- 
eenth centuries.  It  was  surveyed,  in 
1783,  by  order  of  Viceroy  Galves,  some- 
time also,  during  the  Spanish  regime, 
Governor  of  Louisiana;  in  a  long  line  of 
incompetents  and  corruptibles,  one  man, 
at  least,  of  honor  and  abilities  and  action. 
From  him,  island  and  bay  and  city  have 
finally  derived  the  modern  appellation, 
which  is  one  and  the  same  for  all  three. 


THE   CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


13 


And  now  enters  upon  the  scene,  an 
erratic,  an  extraordinary  personage.  Not 
to  say  an  enigmatical  also.  The  most 
singular  in  all  these  chronicles  of  Galves- 
ton.  Interesting  and  picturesque,  like 
Robin  Hood  and  Rob  Roy,  whom  he  may 
some  day  rival  in  song  and  story,  to  a 
humdrum  and  prosaic  age  like  this.  But 
not  perhaps  to  be  judged  by  its  standards  ; 
by  those  rather  of  the  season  and  the  cir- 
cumstances of  which  he  was  the  product. 
Jean  Lafitte,  the  outlaw  of  Barataria. 
Lafitte,  smuggler,  slaver  and  privateers- 
man.  Pirate,  perhaps,  also.  Who 
knows  ? 

And  yet,  no  less  a  judge  of  men,  and 
of  mettle  too,  be  it  said,  than  Old  Hickory 
himself,  clasped  hands  with  this  same 
Jean  Lafitte,  and  entrusted  a  post  to  him, 
as  honorable  as  dangerous,  the  command 
of  the  artillery,  on  that  field,  memorable 
to  our  cousins-german  the  British,  the 


ers  there,  procured  straightway  from  the 
master  of  the  White  House  then,  an 
amnesty  for  all  their  past  offenses  — 
offenses,  prosecutions  for  which,  instituted 
by  Governor  Claiborne,  of  Louisiana, 
were  then  hanging  over  their  heads. 

Fiction  blends  easily  with  the  facts  of 
history  in  the  accounts  of  such  a  man. 
In  person,  tall,  of  course,  handsome, 
symmetrical  and  stately.  In  manners, 
bland  and  dignified  and  courtly.  In  char- 
acter, reserved  and  silent ;  not  without 
policy  ;  as  absolutely  correct  in  his  habits 
as  his  attire.  In  action,  intrepid.  And 
terrible  as  a  lion  when  roused.  The 
conventional  attributes — fashionable  in 
dress,  easy  in  deportment,  French  in 
accent,  polished  and  fluent  in  conversa- 
tion, agreeable,  and  if  need  be,  generous  ; 
but  inexorable  when  occasion  required. 
And  born  to  rule.  "  The  front  of  Jove, 
Hyperion  curls,  an  eye  "  —  he  had  a  habit 


RESIDENCE    OF    CAPT.  CHAS.  FOWLER, 
AGENT   OF   THE    MORGAN    LINE    OF    STEAMERS. 


field  of  Chalmette,  the  field  of  the  de- 
cisive battle  of  New  Orleans.  And  the 
services  rendered  by  him  and  his  follow- 


of  drooping  the  lid  of  one,  —  "  like  Mars 
to  threaten  and  command."  Romance, 
truly,  enwreathshim,  with  its  immortelles. 


14 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTOK 


"A  stray  sheep"  he  calls  himself,  in 
his  correspondence  with  Claiborne,  "wish- 
ing to  return  to  the  sheep-fold."  A 
sailor  "  under  the  flag  of  the  Republic  of 
Cartagenia,"  and  with  papers  regularly 
drawn.  "A  loyal  citizen  still,"  if  he  has 
"  evaded  "  the  payment  of  customs  —  the 
said  evasions  consisting  in  armed  resist- 
ance to  authority  as  well  as  contraband 
trade.  All  his  offenses  "  forced  upon 
him  by  certain  vices  of  the  laws."  He 
and  his  adherents  "  still  worthy  to  dis- 
charge the  duties  of  citizens  :  still  ready 
to  exert  their  utmost  efforts  in  defense 
of  their  country,"  provided,  ah!  PRO- 
VIDED: "a  stop  is  put  to  the  proscrip- 
tions against  them."  And  declaring  in  a 
fine  spirit  of  amor  patrice,  that  if  an  act  of 
oblivion  introduced  in  the  Territorial 
legislature  by  his  friend,  John  Blanque,and 
urged  by  his  lawyer,  Edward  Livingston, 
fails  to  receive  executive  sanction,  that  he 
will  "  instantly  leave  the  country,  to  avoid 
the  imputation  of  having  co-operated 
toward  an  invasion  which  cannot  fail  to 
take  place,  and,  so  rest  secure  in  the 
acquittal  of  conscience." 

Claiborne  is  charged  with  a  sort  of 
activity  in  this  matter,  pernicious  in  war 
time ;  but  properly  conscientious,  and 
thoroughly  patriotic  on  both  sides,  are  the 
negotiations  throughout.  Was  it  that 
Jackson  recognized  in  the  smuggler  chief 
a  kindred  spirit?  Or  merely  a  knight  in 
the  great  chess  game  he  must  play  ?  Cer- 
tain it  is,  at  all  events,  that  Lafitte  rejected 
some  very  tempting  British  bribes.  And 
whatever  his  sins  in  the  eyes  of  the  law, 
they  were  countenanced,  and  justified,  by 
many  of  the  honest  men  of  his  day ;  were 
such,  in  fact,  as  the  accompanying  cir- 
cumstances extenuate,  if  they  do  not  en- 
tirely efface. 

By  virtue  of  his  Cartagenian  letters  of 
marque,  Lafitte  took  possession  of  Gal- 
veston  Island  in  1817.  What  need  of 
more  formal  title?  Don  Luis  Aurv, 
grandiose  as  "commodore  of  the  com- 


bined fleets  of  Mexico,  New  Granada 
Venezuela  and  La  Plata,"  did  indeed 
claim  prior  occupation,  but  his  pay  chest 
was  exhausted,  and  his  paymaster  took 
service  with  the  new  Lord  of  the  Isle. 
Under  whose  banner  too,  soon  assembled 
as  motley,  as  precious  a  lot  of  rascals — 
adventurers,  refugees,  outlaws,  cutpurses, 
of  every  empire  and  rule,  and  past  mas- 
ters in  every  degree  of  crime,  as  ever  con- 
sorted in  frontier  camp,  which,  in  its  gam- 
ing and  drinking  and  brawling,  Cam- 
peachy,  Lafitte's  settlement,  somewhat 
resembled. 

But  a  decent  semblance  of  order  was 
strictly  enforced.  And  by  one  man's  will 
was  the  simple  but  ample  code  main- 
tained. With  neither  scepter,  nor  crozier, 
nor  Senate,  nor  gray  goose  quill,  nor  vet 
with  my  ladies  fan,  did  our  Caesar  reign 
supreme.  And  yet  by  a  moral  suasion 
that  had  the  weight  of  lictor's  rods.  In 
the  midst  of  the  town  a  gallows  was 
raised,  from  which,  significant  of  the 
master's  displeasure,  once  dangled  the 
body  of  a  certain  Captain  Brown,  who 
had  been  guilty  of  depredations  on  the 
soil  of  the  Union,  contrary  to  orders. 
When  the  officers  of  the  United  States 
came  to  demand  him,  the  corpiis  delicti 
was  gravely  delivered  to  them,  with  judg- 
ment duly  certified.  A  whole  decalogue 
of  injunctions  was  condensed  in  that  leaf- 
less gallow-trec.  Barring  Lafitte,  the 
place  was  the  ideal  commune.  Liberty, 
Equality  and  Fraternity — share  and  share 
alike, — of  toil,  of  hazard,  of  hardship,  and 
of  rich  reward. 

The  usual  population  of  Campeachy 
was  about  1,000.  Its  commerce  for  the 
size  of  the  place,  was  enormous.  The 
waning  marine  of  old  Spain  was  fright- 
fully harried  by  the  privateers  of  Cam- 
peachy.  Hither  flocked  Puritan  Boston, 
and  Quaker  Philadelphia,  to  mingle  with 
the  unregenerate  and  trade  their  produce 
for  foreign  brandies  and  fabrics.  The 
old  relations  with  New  Orleans  were 


16 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


renewed.  But  the  most  profitable  traffic 
was  in  slaves.  The  Bowie  Brothers, 
Resin,  and  Jim— he  of  the  Alamo — were 
in  it. 

Such  was  Galveston  Island  from  1817 
to  1821.  Until,  in  fact,  Lafitte's  occupa- 
tion was  rendered  unprofitable  by  the 
acknowledgement  of  the  independence 
of  the  Spanish  colonies,  and  his  location  as 
untenable  by  the  surveillance  of  the  United 
States.  He,  therefore,  piped  a  picked 
crew  aboard  his  flag- ship,  the  Pride; 
applied  the  torch  to  Campeachy,  and  with 
white  sails  checkered  against  the  blue 
void,  soon  left  its  red  embers  behind. 
But  no  memory  of  his  exploits  thereafter, 
good  or  ill,  is  embalmed  now  either  in 
sea  myth  or  Creole  lore.  Fading  fast — 
fading  —  faded — out  of  mind,  is  Jean 
Lafitte,  like  the  Pride  vanishing  upon  the 
dim  horizon  that  day. 

For  fifteen  years  after  Lafitte's  depart- 
ure the  Island  was  abandoned  to  the 
osprey  and  the  sea  mew.  Austin  pater 
patrice  of  the  Texans,  endeavored  to 
•obtain  a  grant  of  it  from  the  Mexican 
government,  to  found  a  city  upon  it,  but 
was  unsuccessful.  In  1836-7  it  was 
identified  with  the  Texas  revolution ; 
merely,  however,  as  a  haven  for  the 
dependents  of  the  patriots  in  the  field. 
The  Ilium  of  that  Homeric  age  was  San 
Antonio.  And  as  Troy's  were  to  the 
Greeks,  its  traditions  are  likely  to  be  an 
inspiration  for  the  Texans,  when  its  stones 
have  crumbled. 

The  city  of  Galveston  was  founded  in 
1838  by  Michael  B.  Menard,  a  French 
Canadian,  who  had  been  one  of  the  most 
active  partisans  of  the  Lone  Star  Repub- 
lic. He  paid  the  Republic  $50,000  to 
confirm  him  the  headright  of  Seguin, 
4,621  acres,  the  site  of  the  city,  and 
organized  the  City  Company,  from  whom 
all  the  land  titles  of  Galveston  descend. 

Grim  war  discovered  Galveston  in  1860, 
a  busy  city  of  7,300  souls,  with  $10,000,- 
ooo  of  aggregate  annual  trade.  It  left  it  in 


1865,  pillaged,  i-avaged,  and  well-nigh 
desolated.  It  was  alternately  beleagured 
by  North  and  South.  And  incidents  of 
that  unhappy  period  are,  to  many  of  its 
residents,  living  memories  yet.  With 
peace,  however,  prosperity  returned. 
Recuperation  thereafter  was  rapid.  The 
steamship  lines  were  re-established.  The 
railroads  projected  before  the  war.  from 
the  city  as  a  terminus,  were  constructed. 
The  growth  of  the  city  since  in  popula- 
tion, trade  and  wealth,  is  due  mainly  to 
these  augmented  and  still  augmenting 
facilities  for  internal  transportation,  link- 
ing it  to  twenty-two  States  and  Territories 
of  the  West,  and  to  those  of  our  neighbor 
of  Mexico,  where  not  even  post  roads 
were  made  before. 

In  1870  the  population  of  Galveston 
was  13,898.  Its  aggregate  business  for 
the  year  was  $18,320,000.  In  1880  it  had 
225248  inhabitants  and  $30,000,000  of 
trade;  $2,375,965  of  that,  the  value  of 
its  manufactures.  In  1885  the  population 
was  40,000  and  the  trade  $47,000,000.  In 
1887,  the  fraction  of  commerce  repre- 
sented in  the  cotton  trade  of  the  city  was 
$35,000,000  alone.  The  wholesale  trade 
was  $20, 000,000  besides,  and  the  manufac- 
tured product,  $3,315,000.  The  assessed 
valuations  had  been  raised  from  $10,000,- 
ooo  in  1870  to  $14,904,856  in  1880  and 
$21,000,000  in  1887,  at  which  conserva- 
tive figure  they  have  been  continued 
since. 

The  population,  by  the  last  (issued  city 
directory,  is  51,443;  the  jobbing  trade, 
$25,000,000 ;  the  exports, foreign,  $65,000,- 
ooo ;  the  imports,  foreign,  $2,000.000 ;  the 
domestic  imports, including  goods  in  transit 
and  destined  for  California,  the  West  and 
Mexico,  $85,000,000.  The  bank  clearances 
of  1889,  were  $70,000,000;  the  output  of 
manufactures  (estimated),  $5,003,800. 
The  progress  of  the  city  has  been  most 
notable  in  the  traffic  in  cotton,  exports  of 
which  were  800,000  bales  in  the  season  of 
1889-90,  nearly  twice  as  much  as  in  1880- 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


17 


Si  ;  in  manufactures,  which  have  increased 
in  respect  of  product  112  per  cent  in 
the  last  decade,  and  in  shipments  west- 
bound, in  transit,  the  increase  of  which 
in  late  years  has  exceeded  the  most  san- 
guine anticipations  of  the  common  car- 
riers, sail  and  rail. 

THE    CITY    AND    THE    WEST. 

VISTAS  of  a  mighty  Galveston  in  the 
future,  are  disclosed  in  this  growth  of  the 
port  as  an  entrepot  and  emporium  for  the 
West.  For  eighteen  years  the  govern- 
ment has  been  engaged,  in  the  desultory 
way  characteristic  of  the  execution  of 
national  improvements,  in  the  work  of 
removing  the  bar  at  the  entrance  to  Gal- 
veston harbor,  so  as  to  make  it  a  port  of 
the  first  class,  namely,  one  having  thirty 
feet  of  water  at  its  mouth.  This  work, 
as  one  affecting  not  merely  local  interests, 
but  the  commerce  of  half  the  Union,  has 
never,  until  lately,  received  the  attention 
it  deserves. 

Efforts  to  hasten  it  have  been  per- 
sistently made  by  the  city  at  successive  ses- 
sions of  Congress,  but  usually  with  little, 
and  sometimes,  no  avail.  The  auxiliary 
work  of  the  inside  bar  was  undertaken  by 
the  city  itself.  Municipal  moneys  were 
also  expended  for  professional  opinions 
as  to  the  feasibility  of  the  undertaking  in 
government  hands.  So  eminent  an  engi- 
neer as  the  late  Capt.  Eads,  was  willing, 
in  his  lifetime,  to  contract  for  it,  at  the 
government' sown  figures  ;  but  he  declined 
to  lobby  a  contract  through.  And  the 
national  appropriations  for  the  work, 
meanwhile,  were  doled  out  with  a  sparing 
hand. 

Meanwhile,  too,  the  Occident  was  com- 
pacting apace,  —  in  population,  in  indus- 
tries, in  influence  and  in  wealth.  Its 
pastures  were  teeming  with  cattle.  Its 
fields  producing  a  superfluity  of  the  sta- 
ples of  export.  Its  mines  and  its  woods  as 
bountiful  as  its  soil.  But  with  its  avenues 


to  tidewater  leading  chiefly  to  the  Atlantic, 
a  long  and  costly  haul,  in  some  parts, 
particularly  in  Kansas,  a  strictly  agricul- 
tural State,  the  conditions  of  production, 
transportation  and  market,  approached 
the  anomaly  of  famine  impending  where 
the  granaries  were  fairly  bursting  with 
corn.  This  state  of  things  was  of  vital 
concern  to  all ;  it  affected  the  railroad  of 
the  West,  as  well  as  the  merchant  and 
farmer. 

The  West  was  roused  to  action.  It 
met  twice  in  convention.  It  secured  an 
examination,  by  engineers,  of  the  Texas 
coast,  for  a  deep  water  harbor.  The  engi- 
neers decided  Galveston  the  only  availa- 
ble point.  The  West  urged  upon  Con- 
gress an  appropriation  of  $6,200,000  to 
complete  the  work  begun  there.  A  bill, 
making  this  provision,  has  passed  the 
Senate.  It  is  pending,  at  this  writing,  in 
the  House.  The  prospect  is,  that  it  will 
pass. 

CLIMATE,    HEALTH,    WATER    SUPPLY. 

WINTER  and  summer  alike,  the  Gulf 
moderates  the  climate  of  Galveston,  mak- 
ing it  at  once  the  pleasantest  and  healthi- 
est city  of  the  South.  But  for  its  daily 
breeze  the  ardent  addresses  of  Old  Sol  all 
summer  long,  would  be  almost  unbear- 
able ;  but  for  it  the  mistral  of  Texas,  the 
"  norther,"  descending  regularly  from  the 
Dakotas  during  the  winter,  would  robust- 
iously  prevail.  Drafts  from  the  deep, 
cool  in  the  hot  season,  warm  in  the  cold, 
mollify  them  both. 

The  maladies  of  the  dog-star  are  rari- 
ties here.  His  flame  is  neutralized,  for 
man  and  beast,  in  an  atmosphere  charged 
with  ozone.  And  once  only,  within 
memory,  has  old  Boreas  invaded  this 
province  of  Phoebus,  on  Christmas  day  of 
that  winter  of  rigors,  1885,  upon  which 
occasion  the  shipping  in  the  harbor  was 
coated  with  ice  ;  a  freak  of  the  Frost  King, 
impressive,  to  many  of  the  residents  of  the 


18 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


city,  as  the  most  signal  meteorological 
manifestation  of  their  lives. 

July  is  the  hottest  month  at  Galveston. 
Its  maximum  temperature  is  usually  93  ; 
its  average  83.  The  range  of  the  ther- 
mometer in  December,  by  reports  of  a 
term  of  years,  is  between  18  and  72.  and 
the  mean  temperature  for  that  month  is 
53.  And  though  the  island  lies  five  de- 
grees to  the  north  of  the  zone  of  the 
banana,  its  winter  extreme  of  18  degrees, 
permits  that  fruit  to  mature. 

Hygeia  has  an  ally  here  in  Nature  it- 
self ;  in  the  sea  and  the  soil  and  the  savory 
air.  The  breeze,  blowing  steadily  and  un- 
obstructed over  the  low-lying  island,  bears 
away  the  noxious  exhalations  of  the  popu- 
lation. The  porous  sands  of  the  site  of 
the  city,  absorb,  not  only  the  surface 
drainage,  but  also  the  fifty  inches  of  an- 
nual rainfall  which  is  constantly  leaching 
it  out ;  for  Galveston  has  no  public  sewer 
system  yet.  Malaria  is  infrequent  at  Gal- 
veston. There  are  no  diseases  especi- 
ally prevalent.  Quarantine,  strictly  en- 
forced against  all  infected  ports,  is  a 
sufficient  barrier  to  Yellow  Jack.  Natur- 
ally one  of  the  healthiest  cities  in  the 
world,  the  death  rate  of  Galveston,  four- 
teen to  the  thousand,  is  lower  than  that  of 
any  seaport  of  the  land. 

A  general  water  supply,  which  was  long 
a  desideratum  hardly  second  in  import- 
ance to  improvement  of  the  harbor,  has 
been  provided  by  sinking  artesian  wells. 
The  city  has  eight  of  these  wells,  flowing 
altogether  2,000,000  to  2,500,000  gallons 
every  twenty-four  hours,  and  five  others 
besides ;  and  these,  with  six  or  eight  deep 
wells  sunk  by  private  enterprise,  and  the 
cisterns  filled  by  the  rainfall,  with  which 
every  household  is  supplied,  furnish  an 
abundance  of  the  element  for  domestic 
and  sanitary  necessities,  for  the  extinguish- 
ment of  fires,  and  for  manufacturing  pur- 
poses. From  wells  alone  four  million 
five  hundred  thousand  to  five  million 
gallons  are  obtained,  and  this  quantity 


can   be    increased    a    third    at    least,    by 
pumping. 

The  city  has  provided  a  pumping  sta- 
tion to  facilitate  the  flow  from  its  wells,  a 
reservoir  and  stand  pipe  ;  and  thirty-three 
miles  length  of  mains  have  been  laid  in 
the  streets  to  distribute  the  water.  The 
pumps  have  6,000,000  to  7,000,000  gal- 
lons, and  the  storage  tank  i,  174,000  gallons 
capacity.  The  stand  pipe  is  152  feet  high 
and  will  hold  547,000  gallons.  The  works 
complete,  cost  $450,000,  for  which  amount 
5  per  cent  40  year  bonds  were  issued. 
The  water  is  drawn  from  "  veins  " — which 
from  the  volume  they  yield,  might  rather 
be  called  rivers — situated  from  795  feet 
least,  to  1,346  greatest  depth  underground, 
and  it  is  exceedingly  wholesome  and 
clear. 

GOVERNMENT,  TAXES  AND  DEBT. 

GALVESTON  presents  the  outward  sem- 
blance at  least,  of  an  orderly  and  well 
governed  city.  *  While  it  has  always  a 
large  floating  population  of  seafarers,  and 
a  very  gregarious  element  in  its  twelve 
and  a  half  per  cent  of  negroes,  a  police 
force  of  forty  men  suffices  for  the  protec- 
tion of  property  and  life.  The  lesson 
that  vice  thrives  in  darkness,  has  been 
mastered  by  the  authorities ;  and  the 
streets  are  lighted  throughout  by  the  city's 
own  electric  plant.  R.  A.  FULTON,  Mayor 
at  present,  is  authority  for  many  of  the 
statements  made  herein. 

The  corpoi-ate  limits  embrace  an  area 
of  six  and  a  half  square  miles.  There 
are  128  miles  of  streets  and  17  of  alleys, 
and  two  and  a  quarter  miles  front  of 
wharves  to  be  patrolled  and  maintained. 
Three  and  a  half  miles  of  the  business 
streets  are  paved  with  wooden  blocks, 
and  four  miles  with  shell.  Where  neces- 
sary the  grades  have  been  raised,  and  fill- 
ing is  in  progress  to  improve  the  drainage 
of  the  streets.  A  system  of  water  and 
sewer  mains  combined  t  has  been  proposed, 
but  the  work  has  not  yet  been  commenced. 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVE8TON. 


19 


The  annual  expense  of  the  principal 
branches  of  the  public  service  is,  approx- 
imately, as  follows :  General  salaries 
$30,000,  police  department  $32,000,  fire 
department  $45,000,  street  lights  $20,000, 
street  improvements  and  other  public 
work  $32,000,  public  health  and  hospital 
$23,000,  schools,  city's  share,  $40,500, 
interest  and  sinking  fund  $100,000. 

Taxes  were  levied  to  provide  for  these 
disbursements  during  the  fiscal  year  1888- 
89,  at  the  rate  of  $1.70  on  the  hundred 
dollars,  against  property  valuations  of 
$20,314,334,  which  is  about  two-thirds 
only,  of  the  real  value  of  the  property 
assessed,  personalty  excepted.  This 
assessment  was  seggregated  as  follows : 
Lands  $9,506,019,  improvements  thereon, 
$6,188,676;  personal  property  (about  a 
tenth  of  actual  values)  $4,619,639.  Of 
the  $1.70  tax  rate,  20  cents  went  for  the 
schools.  The  revenue  derived  by  taxes, 
$345,000,  was,  however,  scarcely  a  third 
of  the  city's  receipts.  The  tax  funds 
were  augmented  by  licenses,  market  rents, 
dividends  from  wharf  property,  etc.,  so 
that  the  total  revenues  of  the  year,  were 
$903,000.  The  disbursements  were  $722,- 
oop.  The  total  tax  rate,  city,  county  and 
State,  for  all  purposes  is  $2.57^. 

The  bonded  debt  of  the  city,  largely  a 
legacy  of  the  corrupt  and  disorderly  era 
of  Reconstruction,  is  $1,500,000.  It  is 
funded  so  as  to  be  in  gradual  process  of 
extinction.  Assets  of  the  city,  consisting 
of  taxes  due,  wharf  and  railroad  stock, 
public  property,  like  market,  school  and 
engine  houses,  the  city  hall,  hospital,  etc. , 
more  than  offset  it.  The  hospital  is 
valued  at  $35,000;  the  city  hall  and 
market  house,  $80,000,  and  an  additional 
market  $10,000;  five  public  squares  and 
a  park  site,  $133,000. 

The  fire  department  has  apparatus  worth 
$46,500;  its  buildings  are  valued  at  $18,- 
500.  It  has  been  a  paid  department  five 
years.  There  are  51  men  enrolled  in  the 
corps.  It  has  five  steamers,  one  Hayes 


truck,  six  hose  carts  equipped  with  7,000 
feet  of  hose,  and  twenty  horses.  The 
various  houses  make  five  stations  for  the 
command.  The  water  supply  is  now  con- 
sidered ample  for  any  exigency.  There 
are  350  double  hydrants  attached  to  the 
thirty-three  miles  of  water  mains  of  the 
new  works,  and  the  old  street  cisterns  are 
still  serviceable.  In  case  of  fire  among 
the  shipping,  the  lighters  in  the  harbor 
act  as  auxiliaries  to  the  department.  The 
efficiency  of  this  arm  of  the  body  politic 
is  illustrated  in  the  fact  that  the  loss  last 
year,  upon  property  valued  at  $400,000, 
was  but  $7,000. 

PLACES  OF  RESORT — STREET  RAILROADS. 

WHILE  some  of  the  public  squares  have 
been  dressed  in  floral  garb,  little  attention 
has  yet  been  given  to  the  matter  of  a 
public  park.  The  beach,  however,  which 
is  a  thoroughfare  and  resort  for  all  the 
people  of  the  city,  rich  and  poor,  high 
and  low  alike,  supplies  in  large  measure 
this  want  of  general  recreation  grounds. 
In  the  outskirts,  too,  are  Woollam's  Lake 
and  the  Fair  Grounds,  and  a  number  of 
gardens  to  which  the  denizens  of  Gal- 
veston  betake  themselves  for  relaxation, 
among  them  that  of  the  GARTEN  VEREIN, 
a  social  organization  of  the  wealthier  resi- 
dents which  has  reclaimed  an  enclosure  of 
several  acres  from  the  waste  of  sand.  It 
is  not  a  garden  of  flaunting  blossoms  in 
brick-bordered,  mathematical  beds,  but  a 
lovely  place  of  floral  parterres,  and 
shrubbery,  and  velvet  sward,  of  rustic 
arbor  and  shady  nook,  with  a  club  house 
and  pavilion  where  the  members  and 
their  families  find  respite  from  the  dust 
and  heat  and  turmoil  of  the  heart  of  the 
city. 

THE  PAGODA  BATHS,  situated  on  the 
beach,  facing  the  Beach  Hotel,  take  this 
name  from  their  architectural  style.  They 
cost  the  company  that  constructed  them 
$12,000.  They  afford  facilities  for  600 


20 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


persons  to  bathe  in  the  surf  an  hour,  and 
unlimited  room  for  sight-seers  besides. 

The  general  plan  of  these  baths  is  that 
of  a  grand  promenade  leading  from  the 
beach  to  a  hundred-foot  pier,  flanked  on 
either  side  by  octagonal  structures  that 
have  long  wings  extending  out  from  them 


furnished  with  the  artesian  water  of  Gal- 
veston,  and  no  extra  charge  is  made  for 
the  use  of  these  accessories.  The  prom- 
enade is  30  feet  wide  and  is  furnished 
with  seats. 

This  bath  house  replaces  one  built  some 
years  ago,  which  was  insufficient  to  accom- 


RKSIDENCE   OF    H.    M.    TRUEHEART,    REAL    ESTATE   AGENT. 


over  the  waves.  The  entire  building 
rests  upon  piling  about  15  feet  high,  and 
the  water  is  reached  by  a  broad  stairway 
descending  from  the  center.  The  pago- 
das are  So  feet  broad,  and  the  wings  are 
58  by  150.  In  these  latter  are  120 
single  and  94  family  dressing  rooms. 
Shower  baths  are  provided,  which  are 


modate  the  summer  visitors  to  the  beach. 
It  is  said  to  be  the  most  commodious,  and 
is  certainly  one  of  the  handsomest  estab- 
lishments of  the  kind  in  the  country.  Ar- 
rangements have  been  made  for  the  safety 
of  those  who  divert  themselves  in  the 
breakers,  and  for  the  comfort  and  enter- 
tainment of  their  companions  as  well. 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


21 


These  baths  are  owned  by  a  stock 
company  of  prominent  residents.  F.  M. 
Spencer,  Col.  Walter  Gresham,  C.  D. 


city,  and  furnish  transit  facilities  to  all 
these  places  of  resort  for  a  five-cent  fare. 
The  lines  of  Galveston  are  all  owned  and 
operated  by  a  single  corporation,  the 
Galveston  City  Railroad  Company,  which 
has  $937,000  invested  in  its  venture. 
The  Beach  Hotel  was  built  and  is  owned 
by  it.  This  company  is  about  to  substi- 


VIEWS    OF   GALVESTON. 


Holmes,  George  Murdock  and  J.  H. 
Atchison  are  its  directors  ;  F.  M.  Spencer 
is  president,  J.  H.  Atchison,  secretary 
and  Geo.  Murdock,  manager. 

Street  railroads,    passing    through    the 
principal  streets,  ramify  all  quarters  of  the 


tute  the  over-head  electric  system  for 
horses  as  motive  power.  And  this  step 
is  but  one  of  many  examples  of  re- 
awakened enterprise  since  Galveston  has 
been  wedded  in  interest  with  the  Great 
West. 


22 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


SCHOOLS,    PUBLIC    AND     PRIVATE. 

ON  Avenue  H,  Galveston,  there  is  an 
imposing  edifice,  crowned  with  a  sort  of 
cupola  or  dome.  It  derives  from  its 
great  length,  almost  the  full  measure  of 
the  block  on  which  it  stands,  a  certain  air 
of  architectural  dignity,  and  its  spacious 
inner  corridors  and  halls,  produce  a  cor- 
responding effect.  Graven  upon  the 
stuccoed  front  of  this  building  are  the 
words:  BALL  HIGH  SCHOOL;  and  in 
one  of  its  chambers  has  been  set  up,  by 
the  school  children  of  the  city,  a  marble 
bust  of  its  founder,  the  late  George  Ball, 
of  Ball,  Hutchings  &  Co.,  bankers,  who 
supervised,  as  well  as  paid  for  its  con- 
struction, and  presented  it,  ground 
included,  a  gift  unconditional,  to  the  city 
in  which  his  fortune  had  been  acquired. 

In  another  district  of  the  city,  on 
Eleventh  street,  between  Avenues  G  and 
H,  is  a  building  scarcely  less  striking  with- 
out and  as  thoroughly  appointed  within. 
This  also  is  a  school  and  a  gift  to  the  city, 
the  gift  likewise  of  a  banker,  Henry 
Rosenberg,  who,  as  Ball,  his  exemplar 
did,  has  raised,  while  still  in  the  flesh, 
the  most  enduring  memento  of  his  life. 
This  school  cost  the  donor  $79,000 ;  the 
Ball  school  is  valued,  with  its  site,  at 
$90,000 ;  and  at  K  and  Twentieth  streets 
is  another,  built  with  the  public  funds, 
that  cost  $35,000.  The  eight  public 
schools  of  the  city  with  their  furniture  and 
fixtures  and  grounds,  are  scheduled  at 
$300,803. 

Donative  or  tax-built,  these  schools  of 
Galveston,  all  things  considered  quite 
equal  to  those  of  which  the  Hub  of  New 
World  culture  boasts,  are  an  embodiment 
of  the  sentiment  of  the  community  with 
respect  to  education.  A  sentiment 
grounded  in  its  public  policy,  by  the 
very  founders  of  the  commonwealth, 
whose  munificent  provision  of  revenue 
and  lands  for  the  support  of  its  schools, 
$100,000,000  in  the  aggregate,  justifies 


all  the  encomium  this  wisest  of  state 
measures  evokes. 

Galveston  forms,  in  the  educational 
scheme  of  the  State,  an  independent 
school  district,  entitled,  however,  to  a 
per  «apita  share  of  the  State's  appropria- 
tion for  schools,  which  for  the  8,780 
children  of  school  age  enumerated  last 
year — of  whom  4,780  were  enrolled — 
amounted  to  $44,000.  The  city  con- 
tributed from  her  own  levy  of  taxes 
$40.000  more,  and  during  the  year  almost 
$100,000  altogether,  was  expended  upon 
the  public  schools  of  Galveston. 

A  board  of  trustees,  an  elective  body, 
governs  these  schools,  with  the  assistance 
of  an  "executive  officer  or  superintendent. 
This  position  is  now  held  by  Jacob  Bick- 
ler,  an  experienced  man.  There  are  five 
schools  for  the  white  children  of  the  city 
and  three  for  the  colored,  who  number  a 
fourth  of  the  enrollment.  Black  or  white, 
equal  facilities  are  afforded  to  all.  The 
teachers  number  102.  Their  salaries 
range  from  $50  to  $200  a  month.  The 
studies  and  methods  of  instruction  differ 
little  from  those  in  vogue  in  other 
American  cities.  Drawing  and  vocal 
music  are  features  of  all  the  courses. 
Latin  is  taught  the  high  school  classes, 
English,  only,  in  the  others.  There  are  no 
grades  preparatory  for  college.  The 
State  provides  normal  and  university 
instruction,  and  the  Galveston  system  is 
the  common  school,  pure  and  simple. 

Two  things  are  worthy  of  remark  in 
this  connection :  Galveston  was  one  of 
seven  -American  cities  awarded  the  gold 
medal  of  the  last  Paris  Exposition  for  the 
daily  work  of  its  schools  ;  and  Galveston  — 
as  much  because  it  is  already  something 
of  an  educational  center,  as  for  its 
clemencies  of  climate — is  the  meeting 
place  of  the  Texas  Summer  Normal,  an 
organization  of  the  teachers  of  the  State 
for  mutual  improvement. 

THE  TEXAS  MKDKAI.  COLLEGE,  a 
State  institution  located  at  Galveston.  has 


24 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTOK 


professional  direction  of  the  new  John 
Sealy  hospital,  a  benefaction  vested  in  the 
cky,  and  has  other  special  advantages  to 


of  the  faculty.  His  associates  in  the  work 
of  instruction  are  Drs.  B.  E.  Hadra, 
Hamilton  A.  West,  H.  P.  Cooke,  Ed. 


URSULINE   CONVENT. 


offer  those  who  desire  to  perfect  them- 
selves in  the  healing  art.  Its  plan  of 
instruction  comprises  lectures,  quizzes, 
clinics,  practical  demonstrations  and  lab- 
oratory work.  It  has  a  graded  curriculum, 
requiring  attendance  at  three  courses  of 
lectures,  and  daily  clinics,  medical  and 
surgical,  are  held  in  the  hospital.  Its  lab- 
oratories of  chemistry,  physiology,  anat- 
omy and  pathology  are  especially  well 
equipped. 

Among  the  members  of  the  faculty  of 
this  college  are  specialists  thoroughly 
competent  to  elucidate  the  theory  and 
practice  of  those  branches  of  the  study  of 
medicine  known  as  pathology  and  bacte- 
riology;  diseases  also  of  the  eye,  ear  and 
throat,  of  the  skin  and  genito-urinary 
organs  ;  and  these  are  taught  in  the  regu- 
lar course.  Dr.  J.  F.  Y.  Paine  is  Dean 


Randall,  jr.,  J.  H.  Wysong,  George  Dock, 
C.  W.  Trueheart,  Geo.  H.  Lee,  Geo.  P. 
Hall,  and  Chas.  C.  Barrell. 

The  most  notable  of  .the  private  schools 
of  Galveston  are  those  that  follow : 

THE  URSULINE  CONVENT  at  Galveston, 
is  an  institution,  which  in  its  field,  the 
education  of  young  ladies,  is  unexcelled. 
It  has  a  healthful  and  pleasant  situation 
on  the  blocks  bounded  by  Avenues  N 
and  O,  Twenty-fifth  and  Twenty-Seventh 
streets,  about  midwav  between  the  busi- 
ness district  of  the  citv  and  the  beach. 
The  illustration  accompanying  this  mat- 
ter is  an  accurate  representation  of  its 
ample  frontage  and  substantial  architec- 
ture,— indications  of  the  commodious  and 
comfortable  appointments  within, — but  it 
gives  no  hint  of  the  spacious  and  attract- 
ive back-ground  of  the  picture — the  exten- 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


25 


sive  enclosures  for  recreation  behind  the 
buildings,  the  adjacent  mansions  and  the 
gardens  of  .the  wealthy  residents  of  the 
city,  the  broad  driveway  of  the  beach,  the 
long  lines  of  white-capped  breakers  thun- 
dering upon  the  shore ^  and  the  glorious 
prospect  of  open  sea  beyond.  It  is  a  site 
that  has  special  charms.  And  if,  as  has 
often  been  said,  there  are  moral  influences 
in  a  cheerful  environment,  then  these  sur- 
roundings of  this  institution,  are  not  the 
least  of  its  many  advantages. 

But  it  was  not  entirely  for  its  pictur- 
esque features,  that  a  site  was  chosen  by 
the  founders  of  the  academy,  beside  the 
Gulf.  It  is  the  benign  office  of  this  balm- 
iest of  Summer  seas,  to  mellow  the  cli- 
mate of  all  Eastern  Texas;  and  Galves- 
ton,  nearest  its  warm  and  heaving  bosom, 
is  its  most  favored  beneficiary.  It  is  true 
that  the  island  is  low ;  but  it  would  be 


of  the  Gulf  blow  daily  over  the  Ursuline 
school,  and  that  its  record  for  healthful- 
ness  is  exceptionally  high. 

This  may  be  ascribed  as  much  to  the 
sanitary  appointments  of  the  academy 
and  to  the  solicitude  of  the  ladies  in 
charge,  as  to  the  genial  and  even  climate 
of  the  Oleander  city.  Particular  atten- 
tion is  paid  to  the  food  of  boarding  pupils, 
to  the  ventilation  of  their  apartments, 
their  exercises  and  relaxations.  The 
methods  of  instruction  and  discipline 
employed  by  the  Sisters,  are  substantially 
those  of  other  first-class  schools,  but  the 
system  is  elastic  and  discriminating,  and  it 
is  not  the  purpose  to  cast  all  the  pupils  in 
the  self-same  mold.  The  aim  is  to  shape 
the  character  as  well  as  mind  ;  to  cultivate 
orderlv  habits  and  lady-like  manners,  as 
well  as  learning.  And  the  hundreds  of 
graduates  of  the  school,  who  are  the  pride 


difficult  to  recall,  at  any  elevation,  a  more 
wholesome  mean  of  atmospheric  condi- 
tions, than  the  Gem  of  the  Gulf  enjoys. 
Certain  it  is.  in  any  event,  that  the  zephyrs 


of  the  home  circle  and  the  ornaments  of  so- 
ciety throughout  the  State,  are  some  meas- 
ure certainly  of  the  success  attained  in  these 
particulars,  by  this  order  at  Galveston. 


26 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


The  courses  of  study  embrace  all  the 
branches  of  a  solid  and  refined  educa- 
tion. The  languages,  drawing,  painting, 
music,  needlework,  etc. ,  are  taught  by 
nineteen  ladies  of  the  community  and 
eleven  household  assistants,  who  are  mem- 
bers also.  Mother  St.  Agnes  is  Superior- 
ess. Tuition,  including  all  the  privileges 
of  instruction  and  board,  is  $100  for  the 
session.  A  discount  is  made  for  less  than 
the  full  course,  or  for  two  or  more  children 
of  the  same  parents.  Instruction  is  given 
to  fifty  young  ladies  of  the  city  who  live 
at  home. 

The  institution  is  chartered  and  is 
empowered  to  confer  degrees.  It  was 
founded  in  1847  by  a  company  of  Sisters 
from  New  Orleans.  And  to  those  who 
were  residents  of  the  city,  when  it  was 
alternately  beleaguered  by  rival  forces  of 
the  North  and  South,  the  old  convent 
building,  will  be  reminiscent,  as  long  as 
it  stands,  of  that  historic  and  heroic  past. 
It  was  in  this  convent,  that,  during  the 
successive  sieges  of  the  city,  the  defence- 
less and  dependent  were  sheltered.  In  it 
these  daughters  of  St.  Angela  eased  the 
last  hours  of  those  who  fought,  with  equal 
valor,  to  maintain  conflicting  traditions. 
In  it,  reposed,  as  in  a  sanctuary,  the  dead 
of  both  invader  and  defender.  And  in  it, 
only,  of  all  this  war-bound  island,  during 
those  years  of  havoc,  had  white-robed 
Peace  a  lodgement. 

THE  CONYNGTON  BUSINESS  COLLEGE 
is  established  in  Houston  as  well  as  here, 
to  provide  the  residents  of  both  places, 
as  well  as  of  the  State  at  large,  educational 
facilities  specially  adapted  for  those  who 
intend  to  engage  in  business  pursuits. 
The  system  and  methods  of  this  institution 
have  been  perfected  during  the  five  years 
since  its  foundation,  by  the  management 
of  the  Messrs.  Conyngton,  whose  reputa- 
tion in  educational  matters  is  more  than 
merely  local.  Both  gentlemen  are  con- 
nected with  the  Texas  Summer  Normal, 
a  permanent  association  of  the  teachers  of 


the  State  for  purposes  of  education,  and 
both  are  likewise  identified  with  the  man- 
agement of  the  editorial  corps  of  the  Tc\as 
Jotirnal  of  Education,  the  leading  edu- 
cational magazine  of  the  State. 

The  faculty  at  Galveston  comprises  six 
experienced  instructors  and  at  Houston 
the  same  number. 

These  teachers  have  been  with  them 
almost  since  the  foundation  of  the  school, 
and  are  experts  in  their  several  specialties. 
The  studies  of  book-keeping,  commercial 
law  and  business  practice,  including  pen- 
manship, constitutes  what  is  called  the  Busi- 
ness Course.  Then  there  is  a  correspond- 
ing course  of  instruction  in  short-hand  and 
typewriting,  including  composition  and 
such  knowledge  of  English  grammar  as  is 
necessary  for  practical  business  use.  For 
those  who  desire  to  take  these  courses, 
and  are  not  adequately  prepared,  they 
maintain  a  preparatory  department  where 
instruction  is  given  in  the  ordinary  English 
branches,  having  as  its  aim  the  preparation 
of  its  pupils  to  write  and  compose  a  first- 
class  business  letter  and  to  be  quick,  sharp 
and  accurate  in  all  arithmetical  calcula- 
tions. 

For  the  benefit  of  young  men  who  are 
busy  during  the  day,  they  run  night  schools 
also  nearly  the  whole  year  round.  These 
are  well  patronized  in  both  cities.  Their 
terms  are  reasonable  considering  the  ad- 
vantages afforded. 

Another  feature  of  the  management  of 
this  institution  is,  that  nearly  every  student 
competent  to  hold  one,  is  provided  with  a 
situation,  shortly  after  graduating.  The 
fact  is,  business  men  complain  that  they  can 
not  get  students  enough  to  fill  the  posi- 
tions that  are  open  to  these  graduates. 
The  College  will  shortly  move  into  new, 
enlarged  and  specially  prepared  quarters 
here. 

The  indications  are  many  that  Galves- 
ton' is  destined  to  be  a  great  capital  of 
commerce.  Numerous  and  weighty  con- 
cerns combine  to  foster  its  growth.  With 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


27 


its  foreign  shipping  houses,  its  general  in- 
surance agencies,  its  cable  station  for 
South  American  and  Mexican  dispatches, 
and  other  special  advantages,  it  leads 
all  the  Southwestern  cities  now.  As 
such,  it  is  headquarters  for  the  TEXAS 
PHONOGRAPH  Co.,  who  have  exclusive 
rights  for  all  Texas  to  the  patents  of  Edi- 
son, Painter  and  Bell,  covering  the  differ- 
ent applications  of  "that  marvel  of  mar- 
vels, the  speaking  machine." 

Considered  as  a  device  merely,  the  pho- 
nograph is  an  extraordinary  thing.  But 
it  promises  to  have  vastly  greater  import- 
ance in  the  civilization  of  the  future,  as 
an  instrument  furthering  all  the  business 
of  life,  and  is  likely  to  hold  a  place  cor- 
responding with  that  of  the  telegraph  and 
telephone,  and  like  conveniences.  Inani- 
mate as  it  is,  it  is  already  the  monitor  and 
familiar  of  editors  and  authors ;  for  them 
the  goddess  Mnemosyne,  mother  of  the 
muses,  materialized.  An  entire  novel  has 
been  committed  to  it,  by  word  of  mouth, 
for  a  recital  later  to  a  copyist,  and  the 
voice  of  England's  Grand  Old  Man,  and 
of  the  cantratice  Patti,  have  been  em- 
balmed in  it  to  delectate  unborn  ages. 

THE  TEXAS  PHONOGRAPH  COMPANY 
is  a  Galveston  institution.  The  greater 
part  of  its  stock  is  held  by  residents  of  the 
city,  among  them  some  of  the  foremost, 
financially  here.  It  is  capitalized  to  the 
amount  of  $500,000.  H.  Lee  Sellers  is 
its  president;  Hugh  R.  Conyngton,  secre- 
tary, Thos.  Conyngton,  general  manager. 
Associated  with  these  gentlemen  as  di- 
rectors are  John  H.  Atkinson,  R.  S.  Wil- 
lis, and  Edward  Lasker  of  Galveston  and 
Robt.  Gibson  of  Dallas.  The  company 
has  commodious  and  elegant  quarters  at  the 
corner  of  Tremont  and  Mechanic  streets. 

PRESS,    DRAMA  AND    SONG. 

A  HANDSOME  pressed  brick  building, 
finished  in  terra  cotta,  and  situated  next 
to  the  Cotton  Exchange,  as  one  of  the 


engravings  in  this  chapter  shows,  is 
occupied  by  the  Galveston  News,  the 
leading  daily  of  the  city.  This  building 
cost  $100,000  and  the  stock  of  the  cor- 
poration proprietary,  $300,000  worth  of 
which  has  been  issued,  is  quoted  on 
'Change  above  par.  The  News  was 
founded  in  1842,  and  was  conducted, 
during  the  eventful  period  of  the  war,  by 
the  late  Willard  Richardson,  a  man  of 
mark  in  Southwestern  journalism.  It  has 
been  eminently  successful  also  under  the 
management  of  Col.  A.  H.  Belo  and 
associates,  who  are  the  owners  besides  of 
the  Dallas  News,  an  organ  second  only  in 
Texas  to  it,  in  merit  and  influence.  As 
an  enterprise  therefore,  it  is  more  than 
merely  a  reflection  of  forty-eight  years  of 
the  life  of  the  city.  It  is  a  gauge  as  well 
of  its  progress  and  prosperity  during  that 
time. 

The  Tribune,  published  by  J.  W. 
Burson,  is  the  only  evening  issue.  The 
Texas  Post,  a  weekly,  has  for  its  constit- 
uency the  German  residents  of  the  city 
and  its  vicinity.  The  sects  and  the  trades, 
educational  and  other  interests,  also  have 
representatives  in  the  press  of  the  city. 
The  Journal  of  Commerce,  devoted  to 
the  industrial  and  commercial  concerns 
of  Texas,  is  the  official  paper  of  the  State 
Association  of  Architects.  It  has  5,000 
circulation.  A  stock  company,  of  which 
E.  F.  Redfield  of  the  Redfield  Company, 
dealers  in  building  material  at  171 
Mechanic  street,  is  president,  and  J.  E. 
Gallaher,  manager,  publishes  it. 

A  very  general  interest  in  current  lit- 
erature is  evinced  by  the  patronage 
accorded  the  bookstores  of  the  city.  The 
municipality  contributes  $1,500  a  year  to 
sustain  the  free  circulating  library  of  the 
Galveston  Lyceum,  and  the  public  has 
access  also,  through  members,  to  the  col- 
lections of  books  of  the  secret  orders. 

The  drama  is  supported  at  Galveston 
in  a  discriminating  as  well  as  liberal 
spirit  that  draws  the  best  talent  of  the 


28 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


stage  to  the  city.  Galveston  enjoys  dis- 
tinction among  Texas  cities  as  the  only 
one  in  which  the  incomparable  Patti  has 
sung.  Music  has  votaries  in  every  house- 
hold, and  choral  societies  of  both  German 
and  American  membership  flourish.  It 
is  somewhat  an  indication  of  the  attention 
given  to  the  refinements  of  life,  that  one 
of  the  largest  music  houses  of  the  South 
has  been  established  and  upbuilt  here, 
that  of  Thomas  Goggan  &  Bro.,  described 
in  another  part  of  this  work. 

Galveston  is  by  no  means  an  art  center. 
But  there  are  meliorating  influences  in 
the  accumulations  of  wealth  in  the  city, 
wherein  taste  and  elegance  originate,  and 
whereby  only,  native  production  is  likely 
to  be  fostered.  A  single  example  of 
commemorative  sculpture  there  is  in  one 
of  the  cemeteries  of  the  city.  The 
memorial  of  a  merchant,  Moritz  Kopferl, 
first  president  of  the  Gulf,  Colorado  & 
Santa  Fe  Railroad.  A  life  size  group  of 
matron  and  children,  expressing  mutely, 
but  eloquently,  in  the  marble  of  Carrara, 
and  the  fine  Roman  bronze  relievo  be- 
neath them,  the  bereavement  of  his  relict. 
Beside  which  costly  tribute  to  a  simple 
citizen  of  Galveston,  the  dust  of  Menard, 
its  founder,  of  Magruder,  its  defender, 
and  of  Wigfall,  its  senator,  lie  all  unhon- 
ored.  A  contrast  which,  however,  it  must 
be  admitted,  might  be  drawn  as  well  for 
many  a  larger  and  richer  place. 

That  greatest  of  all  artists,  the  sun, 
beaming  steadily,  throughout  the  seasons, 
in  an  almost  unclouded  sky,  lends  his  aid 
to  further  and  perfect  the  work  of  the 
Galveston  photographer.  The  profession 
is  favored  likewise  by  the  liberal  patron- 
age bestowed  by  wealthy  and  fashionable 
residents.  Superior  work,  especially  in 
portraiture,  is,  accordingly,  done  in  the 
city — the  best,  perhaps,  by  JUSTUS  ZAUN, 
whose  gallery  and  studio  is  at  418  Tremont 
street.  Mr.  Zahn's  acquirements,  gained 
in  his  early  life  in  Germany,  have  been 
rounded  out  by  experiences  in  several  of 


the  large  cities  of  this  country,  and  he  has 
made  himself  proficient  in  all  the  branches 
of  his  business.  Many  of  the  engravings 
in  this  work  were  made  from  views  taken 
by  him,  the  artistic  spirit  of  which  it  has 
been  scarcely  possible  to  reproduce  in  the 
hard  metallic  medium  of  electro  plates. 
Mr.  Zahn  is  successor  to  P.  H.  Rose,  who 
had  reputation  before  him  as  a  skillful 
photographer. 

SOCIETY    AXD     PEOPLE. 

GALYESTOX  is  a  minor  type  of  the 
cosmopolitan  city,  and  is  as  liberal  in  its 
pursuit  of  diversions  as  the  Athens  of  the 
Apostolic  era  with  respect  to  stranger 
Gods.  The  celebration  of  a  Mai  fest  or 
a  Fall  of  the  Bastile,  has  participants  of 
every  nationality.  Its  resorts  are  en- 
livened by  the  presence  of  the  large 
floating  population  attracted  by  its  pros- 
perity, measurably  so  by  the  non-resi- 
dent attaches  of  the  foreign  houses  busily 
engaged,  for  more  than  half  the  year,  in 
the  cotton  trade. 

As  a  seaport  and  summer  resort  it  is 
tolerant  of  gambling  and  social  vices. 
These  proceed  retiringly  behind  closed 
doors.  Sunday  law  is  not  strictly  en- 
forced. The  proprieties  of  life  are, 
nevertheless,  very  generally  observed. 

Galveston  has  several  associations  de- 
voted to  physical  culture  and  athletic 
sport,  among  these  the  Turn  Verein,  and 
a  base  ball  club.  For  the  national  game 
finds  favor  with  the  populace  just  as  else- 
where in  the  land.  It  has  no  driving  club, 
but  it  has  many  reinsmen  and  horse  fan- 
ciers, by  whom  the  beach  and  the  Fair 
grounds  are  used  as  a  speeding  track.  It 
has  several  militia  commands  also,  cul- 
tivating zealously,  as  everywhere  in  the 
South,  a  knightly  spirit,  as  well  as  a  thirst 
for  distinction  in  arms.  But  the  pride 
of  the  residents  is  the  Island  City  Boating 
and  Athletic  Club,  which  has  achieved 
first  honors  at  many  of  the  regattas  in 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


29 


southern  waters,  and  of  which,  many  of 
ic  Ynerchants  of  the  city  are  honorary 
members.  It  has  a  fine  club  house  on  one 
of  the  wharves,  and  a  full  complement  of 
racing  and  pleasure  craft. 

The  Union  Club  is  an  association  of  the 
business  men  for  social  relaxation.  Gal- 
veston  has  a  liberal  sprinkling  of  German 
citizens  and  of  whites  from  the  adjacent 
Creole  State.  But  the  predominating 
element  of  the  population  is  American  ; 
if  not  to  the  manor  born,  thoroughly 
Americanized ;  and  from  it  the  best 
society  of  the  city  takes  its  tone.  It  is  a 
conservative  society,  this  of  Galveston, 
holding  fast  to  many  of  the  social  tra- 
ditions and  conventionalities  of  the  ancien 
regime.  And  but  little  infected  with 
fashionable  follies.  A  society  of  intelli- 
gence, refinement  and  true  gentility, 
basing  its  distinctions  less  upon  wealth 
than  on  moral  worth. 

A  society  recognizing  its  duty  to  its 
dependents  of  the  enfranchised  race. 
Not  unmindful  of  its  obligations  with 
respect  to  religion  and  the  humanities. 
Having  along  with  many  high-minded 
and  honorable,  its  share  of  generous  and 
public-spirited  men.  To  one  of  whom, 
the  late  John  Sealy,  of  Ball,  Hutchings  & 
Co.,  bankers,  the  State  is  indebted  for  a 
noble  foundation,  the  hospital  building 
which  bears  his  name.  This  institution 
is  leased  to  the  city,  by  which  it  is  main- 
tained as  a  public  charge. 

ST.  MARY'S  INFIRMARY,  one  of  the 
largest  and  finest  institutions  for  the  res- 
toration of  invalids  in  the  Southwest,  is 
located  at  Eighth  and  Market  streets,  a 
delightful  situation,  away  from  the  noise 
and  bustle  of  the  business  precincts  of  the 
city.  It  is  a  spacious  structure,  manifest- 
ing externally  the  comfort  that  reigns 
within  it,  has  ample  grounds,  and  the 
most  attractive  environment  of  the  resi- 
dence'quarter ;  and  it  is  visited  daily  by 
the  refreshing  and  wholesome  Gulf  breeze, 
itself  a  tonic  for  bodily  ailments,  and  a 


healing  balm  for  the  dispirited  and  dis- 
tressed. 

St.  Mary's  is  conducted  by  the  Sisters 
of  Charity  of  the  Incarnate  Word,  who 
conduct  also  St.  Joseph's  Infirmary  at 
Houston,  and  whose  reputation  has  been 
established  by  the  perfect  system  and  order 
of  their  management,  as  well  as  by  their 
tender  ministrations  and  heroic  devotion 
to  duty,  here  and  everywhere,  in  seasons 
of  pestilence  and  calamity.  Mother  Au- 
gustine, one  of  the  most  experienced  ladies 
of  the  order,  is  its  Superioress.  The  medi- 
cal staff  is  directed  by  Dr.  C.  H.  Wilkin- 
son, who  is  also  surgeon  in  chief,  and  Dr. 
M.  Singer  is  house  surgeon. 

Over  17,000  patients  have  been  treated 
at  St.  Mary's  since  its  establishment  in 
1866.  It  has  special  facilities  for  those 
who  desire  personal  attention  and  private 
conveniences,  and  for  patients  of  both 
sexes  from  the  interior,  to  many  of  whom, 
it  is  commended  by  the  country  physi- 
cians. It  has  the  character  of  a  quiet  and 
retired  home  rather  than  of  a  public  insti- 
tution ;  of  a  home  providing  the  careful 
nursing,  the  appetizing  fare  and  the  indi- 
vidual consideration,  that  many,  indeed 
most  of  the  sick,  require. 

LIVING    AND    HOTELS. 

GALVESTON  rivals  New  Orleans  in  the 
profusion,  variety  and  cheapness  of  its 
market  products.  It  has  its  restaurateurs 
too,  like  that  Epicurean  city,  specially  de- 
voted to  the  gratification  of  the  palates  of 
the  local  bon  vivants.  The  Gulf  is  the 
natural  home  of  the  pompano,  the  red-fish, 
the  Spanish  mackerel  and  the  oyster,  and 
the  packing  of  these  denizens  of  the  warm 
salt  waters  for  shipment  to  inland  cities,  is 
an  expanding  industry  of  the  city.  The 
prolific  gardens  and  orchards  of  the  con- 
tiguous mainland,  produce  abundantly, 
besides  the  fruits  of  the  temperate  zone, 
the  fig,  the  banana,  and  the  orange  ;  and 
along  with  these  are  displayed  in  the  stalls, 


30 


THE   CITY  OF  GAL  VESTON. 


many    comestibles    entirely    unknown    in 
colder  climates. 

Favored  with  such  facilities  for  a  supe- 
rior cuisine,  the  hotels  of  the  city  can  be 
charged  with  neither  a  doubtful  nor  a  fru- 
gal hospitality.  Of  those  open  the  year 


round,  the  GIRARDIN  and  TREMONT  are 
the  best.  The  BEACH,  situated  directly 
upon  the  Gulf  shore,  is  the  favorite  resort 
of  the  summer  visitors.  These  three 
houses  have  accommodations,  between 
them,  for  over  a  thousand  guests. 


NEW    FEDERAL   BUILDING,    GALVESTON. 
TO   BE   USED    FOR   CUSTOM    HOUSE,    UNITED    STATES   COURTS   AND    POST    OFFICE. 


GALVESTON    AS   A   RAILROAD   CENTER. 


ALVESTON  is  the  Gulf 
terminal  for  all  three  of 
the  powerful  and  com- 
prehensive railroad  sys- 
tems of  the  Southwest, 
Gould's  Missouri  Pacific 
lines,  the  Santa  Fe  lines  and  those  of 
the  Southern  Pacific  system.  It  is  the 
seaboard  station  for  most  of  the  Texas 
traffic  of  these  lines,  New  Orleans  only 
competing  in  this  particular  with  it ;  and 
it  is  the  tidewater  outlet  besides,  for  very 
much  of  their  business  originating  outside 
the  State.  The  Union  Pacific  and  Rock 
Island  systems,  steadily  advancing  their 
outposts  southeastward,  the  former  by  its 
lately  acquired  "  Panhandle  "  line  from 
Denver  to  Fort  Worth  and  the  latter 
south-bound  from  Kingfisher,  Kan.,  to 
Fort  Worth  and  San  Antonio,  are  likely 
also  to  make  it  their  sea-side  destination, 
and  other  roads  are  projected  toward  it. 

The  three  systems  that  already  afford  it 
transportation  advantages,  have  an  aggre- 
gate length  of  25,000  miles  of  track. 
They  interchain  Southwestern  communi- 
ties having  12,000,000  of  population  in 
the  aggregate,  for  whom,  one  and  all, 
Galveston  is  the  gateway  to  the  sea. 
They  are  the  arterial  system  of  the  com- 
merce of  all  that  vast  region,  west  of  the 
Mississippi  and  lying  between  the  twenty- 
ninth  parallel  of  latitude,  approximately 
that  of  Galveston  and  Guaymas,  Mexico, 
and  the  thirty-ninth,  very  nearly  that  of 
Kansas  City,  Denver  and  San  Francisco, 
a  region  almost  if  not  quite  equal  in  area 
to  a  third  of  the  Union,  and,  prospect- 
ively,  its  richest  parts. 

This  is  the  territory  inland,  tributary  in 
the  commercial  sense  to  Galveston.  The 
State  of  Texas  has,  according  to  the 


comptroller's  report  for  1890,  8,468  miles 
of  track  herself,  all  which  is  available  for 
the  trade  of  Galveston,  either  directly, 
by  the  three  roads  described  in  this  chap- 
ter, or  indirectly,  by  their  branches  and 
auxiliaries. 

THE  INTERNATIONAL  AND  GREAT 
NORTHERN  Railroad,  familiarly  known 
as  the  International  Route,  because  it  is  a 
trunk  line,  through  Texas,  to  the  Repub- 
lic of  Mexico,  is,  with  its  branches,  825 
miles  long,  and  is  a  component  of  the 
great  Gould  Southwestern  system.  It 
extends  from  Longview  in  Northeastern 
Texas.  496  miles  southwesterly  to  La- 
redo on  the  Rio  Grande,  through  Overtoil, 
Troupe,  Jacksonville,  Palestine,  Hearne, 
Milano  Junction,  Rockdale,  Taylor, 
Round  Rock,  Austin,  the  State  Capital ; 
San  Marcos,  New  Braunfels  and  San  An- 
tonio ;  and  from  Palestine,  in  mid-Eastern 
Texas  to  Galveston  200  miles  south, 
through  Crockett,  Trinity,  Willis  and 
Houston.  It  has  branches  from  Overton 
to  Henderson,  Mineola,  through  Tyler  to 
Troupe,  Round  Rock  to  Galveston, 
Phelps  to  Huntsville  and  Houston  to 
Columbia.  By  its  connection  with  the 
Texas  &  Pacific  Railway,  from  Longview 
to  Texarkana,  and  thus  with  the  St.  Louis, 
Iron  Mountain  &  Southern  Railway,  or 
Iron  Mountain  Route,  the  International 
forms  the  shortest  line  between  Galveston, 
Houston  and  St.  Louis.  Pullman  Buffet 
Sleeping  Cars,  making  the  trip  eleven 
hours  fifteen  minutes  quicker  than  any 
other  route,  ply  between  these  points.  A 
line  of  Pullman  Buffet  Sleepers  is  also 
in  daily  operation  between  Laredo,  San 
Antonio,  Austin  and  St.  Louis,  Mo., 
proceeding  north  without  change,  via 
Texarkana  and  the  "Iron  Mountain 


32 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


Route,"  and  vice  versa,  making  the  trip 
eleven  hours  quicker  than  by  any  other 
route.  Pullman  Buffet  Sleeping  Cars  are 
also  run  daily  between  San  Antonio  and 
Kansas  City,  without  change. 

At  Laredo,  direct  connection  is  made 
with  the  Mexican  National  Railroad, 
which  has  Pullman  Buffet  Sleeping  Cars 
to  and  from  the  City  of  Mexico.  Thus 
practically,  an  unbroken  sleeping  car  line 
is  provided  between  St.  Louis  and  the 
City  of  Mexico.  Accommodations  through 
can  be  secured  at  either  point,  and  the 
change  at  Laredo  occurs  in  a  Union  Depot 
and  at  seasonable  hours. 

Between  St.  Louis  and  the  City  of 
Mexico,  this  route  is  263  miles  the  short- 
est and  17  hours  15  minutes  the  quickest, 
both  ways.  Between  Galveston  and  the 
City  of  Mexico,  this  route  (via  Austin 
and  Laredo)  is  seven  hours  quicker  than 
any  other  route.  The  grand  old  Sierra 
Madre  Range  of  mountains  is  in  full  view 
from  the  car  windows  the  greater  part  of 
the  route ;  the  scenery  indeed  along  the 
line  of  the  Mexican  National,  is  conceded 
the  most  picturesque  in  Mexico. 

With  these  advantages,  the  Interna- 
tional &  Great  Northern  Railroad  is 
unquestionably,  the  Trunk  Line  to  and 
from  Mexico  ;  also  between  the  cities  in 
South  and  Southwest  Texas  and  St. 
Louis,  Chicago,  New  York  and  the  East. 
That  fact  is  attested  by  its  business,  which 
is  continuously  increasing  and  requiring 
large  additions  to  its  already  extensive 
equipment.  Although  it  is  as  thoroughly 
appointed,  in  all  of  its  departments  as 
any  road  in  the  land,  and  is  providing 
excellent  service  to  both  traveling  and 
shipping  patrons,  its  policy  is  progressive 
and  it  is  steadily  anticipating  its  require- 
ments, by  placing  orders  for  new  locomo- 
tives, cars  and  passenger  coaches. 

It  will  be  observed  by  reference  to  the 
sketch  of  the  route  of  the  International  in 
the  preceding  paragraphs,  that  Austin. 
San  Antonio,  Laredo,  Houston,  Gal- 


veston, and  other  of  the  largest  and  most 
flourishing  towns  in  Texas,  are  directly 
upon  it.  LOXGVIEW,  its  northern  termi- 
nus, is  a  place  of  3,000  population,  with 
quite  a  large  trade.  It  is  the  county  seat 
of  Gregg  county,  which  has  a  soil  speci- 
ally adapted  to  the  growth  of  fruits,  and 
it  is  282  miles  from  Galveston.  Busy  and 
thriving  places,  too,  are  Overtoil  and 
Henderson  in  Rusk  county,  which  had 
standing,  according  to  the  last  census 
reports,  2,816,000  feet,  board  measure,  of 
merchantable  pine,  and  which  has  exhib- 
ited the  superior  products  of  its  orchards 
at  fairs  in  other  States.  MINEOLA, 
northern  terminus  of  the  Mineola  branch 
of  the  I.  &  G.  N.,  is  290  miles  from  Gal- 
veston. It  has  2,500  people  and  is  the 
largest  town  in  Wood  county,  a  country 
of  many  streams  and  water  powers 
Mineola  ships  25,000  bales  of  cotton  a 
year. 

TYLER,  in  Smith  county,  265  miles 
from  Galveston,  is  a  bustling  com- 
munity of  10,500  people.  It  has 
noteworthy  manufactures,  among  them 
four  fruit  packeries — significant  of  the 
attention  given  to  fruit  culture  in  the 
country  adjacent — it  ships  strawberries  to 
both  Denver  and  Kansas  City,  and  it 
sends  to  the  greater  markets  of  the  land 
some  21,000  bales  of  cotton  a  year.  It 
has  the  electric  light  and  an  opera  house, 
and  is  the  county  seat ;  and  is  further 
distinguished  as  the  place  where  three 
superior  tribunals  hold  regular  sessions, 
the  State  Court  of  Appeals,  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Texas  and  the  United  States 
District  Court.  PALESTINE,  Anderson 
county,  200  miles  from  Galveston,  is  a 
place  of  8,000  population,  and  of  im- 
portant and  diversified  industries.  It  has 
a  large  and  powerful  cotton  compress,  a 
mammoth  cotton  seed  oil  mill,  a  big 
foundry  and  machine  shops  and  the 
general  offices  and  shops  of  the  I.  &  G. 
N.  road.  It  has  its  ice  factory,  electric 
light  plant  and  a  supply  of  most  excellent 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTOK 


33 


water  adequate  for  the  demands  of  future 
growth.  The  prolific  soil  of  the  adjacent 
country,  producing  besides  fruits,  early 
vegetables  and  cotton,  a  great  variety  of 
the  staples  of  Texas,  contributes,  with  its 
manufacturing  enterprise,  to  give  prestige 
and  prosperity  to  Palestine.  Its  ship- 
ments of  cotton  during  the  season 
aggregate  nine  or  ten  thousand  bales. 

TAYLOR  is  in  Williamson  county, 
where  the  I.  &  G.  N.  crosses  the  M.,  K. 
&  T.,  has  a  cotton  trade  of  15,000  bales, 
branch  railroad  shops  and  a  population  of 
4,000,  which  it  confidently  expects  will 
be  doubled  within  the  next  two  years. 
GEORGETOWN,  also  in  Williamson  county, 
355  miles  from  Galveston,  has  3,5°° 
people,  15,000  bales  shipments  and  five 
or  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  of  busi- 
ness a  year.  It  is  notable  also  for  its 
Methodist  University,  its  Chautauqua 
Assembly  grounds  and  its  mineral  springs. 
Williamson  county,  it  may  be  remarked 
parenthetically,  exhibited  at  the  Atlanta 
International  Cotton  Exposition  of  1881, 
a  fleece  that  weighed  40  pounds.  The 
animal  from  which  it  was  taken  yielded 
25  pounds  a  year  for  five  years.  The 
county,  in  fact,  is  famous  for  its  flocks 
throughout  the  State. 

AUSTIN,  the  capital  of  Texas,  is  situ- 
ated upon  an  eminence  rising  from  the 
Colorado  River,  in  Travis  county,  and 
commanding,  from  Capitol  Hill  and 
other  positions  within  the  city,  an  ex- 
tended and  pleasing  prospect.  The 
-general  elevation,  about  650  feet  above 
sea  level,  unfolds  a  panorama  of  rugged 
mountains  and  undulating  prairie  and 
broad  and  fertile  valleys,  of  winding 
river,  primeval  woodland,  verdant  fields 
and  fallowed  lands,  hardly  surpassed  in 
the  land ;  and  the  city  itself  has  elements 
of  the  picturesque  in  keeping  with  its 
environment.  It  is  considered  one  of  the 
most  attractive  cities  of  the  State,  and  is 
of  note  also  for  its  salubrious  climate, 
substantial  business  architecture,  tasteful 


homes  and  social  refinement.  The  new 
State  capitol,  the  most  imposing  pile 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  but  little  if 
any  inferior  to  the  New  York  capitol  at 
Albany,  is  located  at  Austin.  It  is 
modelled  after  the  capitol  at  Washington, 
and  is  a  structure  becoming  the  rank  and 
pride  of  the  State.  Austin  is  a  jobbing 
center  of  considerable  importance.  Its 
yearly  cotton  shipments  are  25,000  bales. 
The  current  and  course  of  the  Colorado 
at  Austin  is  particularly  favorable  for 
the  development  of  manufacturing  pow- 
ers, a  work  which  has  lately  been  under- 
taken in  the  public  interest  by  the 
municipality  itself. 

SAN  MARCOS,  Hays  county,  and  NEW 
BRAUNFELS,  Comal  county,  are  places 
of  about  3,000  population  each,  shipping 
about  15,000  bales  apiece  and  both  lying 
upon  streams  affording  water  powers, 
which  are  utilized  to  run  saw  and  grist 
mills  and  other  industrial  establishments. 
San  Marcos  is  famous  for  its  scenic  sur- 
roundings. The  San  Marcos  river  takes 
its  rise  here,  in  a  spring  bursting  from  the 
base  of  the  mountains  near  the  town. 
New  Braunfels  was  settled  years  ago  by  a 
thrifty  class  of  Germans.  The  Comal 
river  at  this  place,  would,  it  is  believed, 
furnish  more  power  by  far  than  is  now 
utilized. 

SAN  ANTONIO,  the  Alamo  city,  is  situ- 
ated, by  the  course  of  the  I.  &  G.  N.  roSd, 
but  154  miles  from  the  Mexican  border. 
Its  geographical  position  and  railway  con- 
nections, establish  it  as  the  gate  city  and 
entrepot  of  Mexican  trade.  It  has  60,000 
population,  and  with  the  rapid  settlement 
of  its  tributary  territory  in  Southern  and 
Southwestern  Texas,  is  growing  fast.  It 
has  a  military  post  disbursing  $1,500,000 
of  government  money,  the  Mexican  con- 
sulate for  the  entire  frontier,  has  a  wool 
trade  of  7,100,000  pounds,  which  is  about 
a  third  of  the  product  of  Texas,  and  im- 
portant banking  and  jobbing  concerns. 
Its  charming  environment  and  its  memo- 


34 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


rials  of  an  eventful  and  historic  past,  and 
more  than  all  else  perhaps,  in  its  later 
stages  of  growth,  the  balm  of  its  climate, 
which  is  pai'ticularly  efficacious  in  restora- 
tion of  the  consumptive  and  debilitated, 
are  attracting  many  from  the  older  States. 
San  Antonio's  advantages  are  exhaust- 
ively treated  in  a  special  edition  of  the 
ENGELHARDT  SERIES,  now  in  press. 

LAREDO,  southwestern  terminus  of  the 
I.  &  G.  N.  R.  R.,  is  situated  on  the  Rio 
Grande  river,  the  border  line  between 
Texas  and  Mexico,  about  600  feet  above 
sea  level  and  in  an  exceedingly  healthy 
locality.  It  has  15,000  people  and  is  the 
county  seat  of  Webb.  Its  position  makes 
it  the  portal  for  commerce  between  the 
United  States  and  the  Republic  of  Mexico, 
and  it  is  fast  becoming  the  commercial 
and  manufacturing  center  for  Southwest 
Texas  and  Northern  Mexico.  The  im- 
ports and  exports  for  1890,  estimated  by 
the  monthly  increase  over  last  year,  will 
amount  to  $20,000,000.  It  has  the  largest 
car  and  machine  shops  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river,  a  large  cotton  gin  and  milling 
works  and  a  number  of  flourishing  manu- 
factories. The  attention  of  manufacturers 
throughout  the  United  States  is  being  at- 
tracted to  Laredo  by  the  unlimited  quan- 
tity of  cheap  coal  mined  there,  the 
abundant  raw  material,  ample  water  sup- 
ply, splendid  climate  and  the  extensive 
ami  growing  markets  in  Southwest  Texas 
and  Mexico.  Besides  its  water  works 
Laredo  has  an  electric  light  plant  and  also 
an  electric  motor  street  railway.  During 
the  past  year  fifteen  modern  stores  and  250 
residences  have  been  constructed.  What 
has  been  built  on  the  heights,  a  beautiful 
chain  of  hills  east  of  the  city,  which  are 
connected  with  the  business  portion  by  the 
electric  motor  street  railway,  makes  quite 
a  city  of  itself.  That  Laredo  is  destined 
to  become  one  of  the  leading  trade  centers 
of  the  great  Southwest,  is  admitted  by  all 
who  have  given  her  advantages  even  a 
cursory  examination.  The  soil  of  the 


country  adjacent  produces  from  three- 
quarters  to  a  bale  an  acre,  and  the  tenderer 
sub-tropical  fruits  may  be  grown  without 
protection. 

ELKHART,  Anderson  county,  has  re- 
cently attained  a  measure  of  prominence 
by  the  discovery  there  of  copious  mineral 
springs.  A  hotel  has  been  built  there  to 
make  it  a  resort.  CROCKETT,  Houston 
county,  164  miles  from  Galveston,  ships 
10,000  bales  of  cotton  a  year.  This 
county  had  3,216,000,000  feet  of  loblolly 
pine  in  it  at  last  reports.  TRINITY,  136 
miles  from  Galveston,  is  the  principal 
railway  station  of  the  county  of  the  same 
name,  which  is  also  heavily  timbered. 
HUNTSVILLE,  Walker  county,  has  the 
Sam  Houston  Normal  school,  a  State 
institution,  and  the  principal  penitentiary 
of  the  State  (with  its  cotton  mill,  shoe 
factory,  saddlery  and  other  manufacturing 
departments)  to  enliven  its  business. 
WILLIS,  Montgomery  county,  is  97  miles 
from  Galveston  and  is  the  end  of  two 
freight  divisions  of  the  I.  &  G.  N. 

HOUSTON,  on  Buffalo  Bayou,  a  naviga- 
ble stream  that  empties  into  Galveston 
Bay,  is  50  miles  from  Galveston.  Its 
population  is  40  ooo.  It  is  the  county 
seat  of  Harris,  and  besides  being  one  of  the 
great  railway  centers  of  the  State,  presents 
the  peculiar  conditions  of  an  inland  city, 
having  also  the  advantages  of  a  seaport. 
Houston's  commercial,  manufacturing, 
educational  and  social  advantages  entitle 
the  city  to  rank  with  the  most  progressive 
and  attractive  places  of  the  Southwest., 
The  manufacturing  interests  of  the  city 
are  large  and  are  increasing  both  in 
variety  and  importance.  Its  industrial 
enterprise  has  representation  in  cotton 
seed  oil  mills,  flouring  and  grist  mills, 
plow  factories,  four  large  brass  and  iron 
foundries,  three  cooperage  establishments, 
car  wheel  works,  extensive  brick  manufac- 
tories and  other  lesser  ventures.  Around 
and  near  the  city  of  Houston,  market 
gardening  is  an  important  and  profitable 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


35 


industry.  Much  attention  has  been  given 
to  the  cultivation  of  strawberries,  grapes 
and  fruits  of  all  kinds. 

THE  INTERNATIONAL,  by  the  State 
Comptroller's  report,  represents  an  invest- 
ment of  $27,945,714.  Its  total  business 
last  year  aggregated,  $3,228,840.  The 
passengers  carried  numbered  462,161  ;  the 
freight  hauled  795,032  tons,  as  follows: 
lumber,  190,000  tons ;  manufactures  and 
merchandise,  155,957  ?  coal,  96,832  ;  mis- 
cellaneous, 73,854;  live  stock,  62,607: 
cotton  57,820;  grain  and  flour,  52,476 ; 
other  agricultural  products,  43,115  ;  lead 
ore,  15,128.  Ithas  1,345  cars,  coaches  and 
locomotives  and  2,532  employes. 

THE  HOUSTON  &  TEXAS  CENTRAL 
RAILROAD,  originated  before  the  war  and 
was  to  have  made  this  city  its  southern 
terminus  and  starting  point  then,  but, 
owing  to  the  indifference  of  the  commu- 
nity toward  it  at  that  time,  construction 
was  begun  instead,  at  Houston.  In  Texas, 
as  elsewhere  in  the  South,  the  conflict  of 
arms,  stayed  all  railroad  projects,  but  in 
1867,  when  business  was  generally 
renewed,  a  new  era  of  railroad  building 
opened,  and  work  was  resumed  on  this 
line,  and  in  a  few  years  it  had  proceeded 
rapidly  northward  until  Denison  at  the 
State  line  was  attained,  a  distance  of  338 
miles.  In  its  progress  northward,  Hemp- 
stead,  Navasota,  Hearne,  Bremond, 
Groesbeck,  Corsicana,  Dallas,  McKinney 
and  Sherman,  the  most  prosperous  and 
populous  place  in  Eastern  Texas,  were 
successively  reached. 

An  entrance  to  Galveston  was  after- 
ward effected  over  the  old  Galveston, 
Houston  &  Henderson's  right  of  way, 
and  branches  have  been  built  out  from  the 
main  stem  of  the  road  as  follows  :  Hemp- 
stead,  west  to  Austin,  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  miles  ;  Bremond,  northwest  to  Al- 
bany (intended  to  be  continued  through 
the  "Panhandle"  of  Texas  to  New 
Mexico  and  Colorado),  two  hundi-ed  and 
thirty-two  miles ;  Garrett,  northeast  to 


Roberts,  fifty- two  miles  ;  and  Garrett  via 
Waxahatchie,  northwest  to  Fort  Worth, 
fifty-three  miles. 

By  its  termination  at  Denison,  the 
Houston  &  Texas  Central  has  connection 
with  the  Missouri,  Kansas  &  Texas  road 
of  the  Gould  System,  north-bound 
through  Indian  Territory,  Kansas  and 
Missouri  to  Kansas  City  and  St.  Louis. 
Its  other  connections  are  numerous,  chief 
of  them  these:  At  Galveston,  with 
the  Morgan  line  of  steamers  for  New 
York ;  at  Houston  with  the  East  & 
West  Texas  narrow  gauge  and  the  South- 
ern Pacific,  (with  which  latter  as  a  road 
of  its  own  system,  it  has  close  alli- 
ance) ;  Fort  Worth  and  Dallas,  with  the 
Texas  &  Pacific  west-bound  for  El  Paso 
and  east-bound  for  New  Orleans  ;  at  Fort 
Worth  also  with  the  new  Denver  &  Fort 
Worth  road  recently  absorbed  by  the 
Union  Pacific,  and  having  Denver  at  its 
other  extremity,  and  with  the  Fort  Worth 
&  Rio  Grande  road  for  Grandbury  and 
Stephensville ;  at  Corsicana  and  Waco 
with  the  St.  Louis,  Arkansas  &  Texas, 
which  effects  a  junction  with  the  Iron 
Mountain  road  at  Texarkana,  and  itself 
proceeds  on  to  Cairo,  111.  At  Hearne 
and  Austin  the  Houston  &  Texas  Central 
is  crossed  by  the  International  &  Great 
Northern  of  the  Gould  System,  and  at 
Navasota,  Brenhain  and  Morgan  by  the 
Gulf,  Colorado  &  "Santa  Fe "  South- 
western and  transcontinental  system. 

The  many  small  but  growing  feeders 
of  the  trade  of  Galveston  that  are  on  this 
route,  make  it  of  great  advantage  to  the 
city.  It  traverses  twenty-seven  counties 
of  Eastern  Texas,  the  most  populous  and 
affluent  of  the  State.  While  it  is  closely 
related  to  the  Southern  Pacific  road,  it  is 
particularly,  as  to  its  management,  policy 
and  situation,  a,  Texas  road,  and  although, 
owing  to  financial  complications,  not  par- 
ticularly pertinent  to  this  description,  it  is 
in  the  hands  of  a  receiver,  it  is  notable 
among  Southwestern  roads  for  its  fine 


36 


THE  CITY   OF  GALVESTON. 


equipment  and  thorough  condition.  It  is 
furthering  immigration  to  the  State  by 
special  arrangements  with  all  the  foreign 
steamship  lines,  and  by  sale  of  sixty  day 
excursion  tickets  throughout  the  North 
and  West ;  and  it  is  spreading,  by  liberal 
expenditure,  for  printed  matter,  all  the 
information  that  might  be  serviceable, 
concerning  lands  along  its  route,  busi- 
ness opportunities,  and  the  characteristics 
of  the  State  that  now  affords  the  most 
inviting  of  all  American  fields  for  colo- 
nization and  enterprise. 

The  report  of  the  State  Comptroller  of 
Texas  recently  issued,  gives  the  total 
length  of  this  road  as  579  miles.  Its  cost 
by  the  same  authority  was  $27  679,903, 
its  earnings  in  1889,  $3,264,362,  its  oper- 
ating expenses,  $2,409,923..  It  owns 
2,009  cars>  and  employs  1,937  persons. 
The  principal  items  of  its  freight  traffic 
during  the  year  were,  lumber  121,660 
tons,  cotton  80,877  tons-  cotton  seed 
35,744  tons,  grain,  flour  and  mill  products 
24.606  tons  live  stock  23.754  tons,  agri- 
cultural products  16,390  tons,  coal  35,- 
710  tons,  manufactured  goods  and  general 
merchandise  376,935  tons.  Its  total 
freight  traffic  was  565,207  tons. 

A.  C.  Hutchinson,  general  manager  of 
the  Southern  Pacific  system  at  New 
Orleans,  is  president  of  the  Houston  & 
Texas  Central  road ;  Chas.  Dillingham, 
Houston,  vice-president  and  receiver ;  A. 
Faulkner,  Houston,  general  passenger 
and  ticket  agent. 

THE  GULF,  COLORADO  &  SANTA  FE 
RAILROAD  is  a  Galveston  enterprise  ;  an 
instance  of  quiet  but  intensive  spirit  on 
the  part  of  representative  men  of  the  city, 
and  a  complete  rejoinder  to  all  criticisms 
upon  the  progressiveness  of  the  com- 
munity. It  originated  with  capitalists 
here,  was  prosecuted  to  completion  as  a 
trunk  line  extending  entirely  through  the 
State  by  them,  and  although  it  has  been 
attached  to  the  great  Southwestern  system 
of  Santa  Fe  lines,  several  of  these  parties 


still  retain  their  interests  in  it,  and  one  of 
them  is  its  vice-president ;  so  that  title  is 
regularly  established  to  it  as  a  Galveston 
creation  and  a  Galveston  project. 

The  first  fifty  miles  of  the  road  were 
built  with  the  assistance  of  a  $200.000 
subsidy,  voted  by  the  county  of  Galveston. 
Financial  complications  stopped  further 
procedure  then  and  for  three  years  after. 
In  1878  the  road  was  sold  under  fore- 
closure. It  was  bought  by  the  real 
promoters  of  the  venture — those  who  had 
funds  to  make  a  start  in  earnest — John 
and  George  Sealy,  J.  H.  Hutchings,  Geo. 
Ball,  Leon  Blum,  Henry  Rosenberg  and 
about  fifteen  other  capitalists  of  the  city, 
by  whom  from  $200,000  to  $500,000 
apiece  was  contributed  to  continue  con- 
struction. Henry  Rosenberg  was  its 
first  president. 

Under  this  management  it  was  rapidly 
pushed  northward  and  in  1882  reached 
Dallas  and  Fort  Worth,  and  at  the  time 
of  its  absorption  by  the  Santa  Fe  system 
in  1887,  it  had  a  main  line  of  517  miles 
from  Galveston  to  Purcell,  Indian  Terri- 
tory, besides  its  branches  in  this  State. 
These  branches  have  been  extended 
somewhat  since,  and  it  now  has  a  total 
mileage  of  1,162  miles,  1,058  in  Texas,  or 
nearly  a  seventh  of  the  length  of  its 
system,  which  has  7i7°7  miles-  The  State 
Comptroller's  report  of  Jan.  i,  1890,  shows 
that  it  cost  to  build"  $23,766,000,  that  it 
takes  about  $3,250,000  a  year  to  operate 
it  and  that  its  earnings  for  1889  were 
$3,761,500.  It  has  3,231  employes. 

A  junction  is  effected  by  it  with  the 
main  line  of  the  Atchison,  Topekn  A: 
Santa  Fe  road  at  Purcell,  and  it  is  thus 
made  the  Southeasterly  grand  division  of 
the  Santa  Fe  system.  Its  branches  are 
all  within  the  State  of  Texas,  viz.  :  Alviu 
to  Houston,  24  miles ;  Somerville  to 
Conroes,  72  miles ;  Temple  to  San 
Angelo,  226  miles;  Cleburne  to  Weatlicr- 
ford,  40  miles,  and  Cleburne  to  Paris. 
152  miles;  and  Ladonia  to  Honey  Grove, 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


37 


12  miles.  Besides  Galveston,  Houston, 
Brenham,  Temple,  Lampasas,  San 
Angelo,  Fort  Worth,  Dallas,  Gainesville 
and  Paris,  thriving  cities  of  the  State,  are 
on  this  line  or  its  bi'anches. 

It  makes  connection  with  all  the  rail- 
roads of  the  State  at  one  or  other  of 
these  points,  with  the  Houston  &  Texas 
Central ;  the  Southern  Pacific  ;  Houston, 
East  &  West  Texas ;  San  Antonio  & 
Aransas  Pass ;  International  &  Great 
Northern ;  Missouri,  Kansas  &  Texas ; 
Texas  &  Pacific ;  St.  Louis,  Arkansas  & 
Texas  ;  Fort  Worth  &  Denver  City  ;  Fort 
Worth  &  Rio  Grande,  and  the  St.  Louis 
&  San  Francisco  ;  also  at  Galveston  with 
all  the  foreign  and  coastwise  steamship 
lines. 

It  is  a  direct  route  to  Kansas  City  over 
connections  with  roads  of  its  own  system, 
and  from  there  to  Chicago ;  and  is  the 
best  route  from  Galveston  to  all  parts  of 
the  central  States  of  the  far  West.  It 
runs  through  a  better  cotton  district  than 
any  of  its  competitors  of  Eastern  Texas, 
and  Galveston  has  a  distinct  advantage 
from  the  vast  traffic  in  that  staple  it 
facilitates,  and  from  distribution  of  goods 
in  return  for  that  product,  over  it.  It 
hauls  to  Galveston  wool  and  corn,  cattle 
grain  and  Mexican  and  Colorado  ores,  as 
well  as  cotton  and  cotton  seed,  and 
carries  out  of  the  city  chiefly,  general 
merchandise,  flour,  fruits,  vegetables, 
coffee  and  sugar  in  large  quantities, 
cotton  bagging  and  ties,  planting  imple- 
ments, coal  and  coke  and  block  tin.  Its 
relative  position  as  a  road  and  its  value  to 
Galveston  are  both  indicated  by  the  fact 
that  in  the  month  of  September  last 
(1889)  it  handled  56  per  cent  of  the  total 
receipts  of  cotton  at  Galveston,  and  in 
October  47  per  cent. 

The  traffic  report  of  this  road  for  1888 
is  an  interesting  exhibit  of  Galveston' s 
strength  as  a  trade  center,  and  of  the 
origin  of  the  staples  of  her  commerce, 
and  since  it  also  discloses  the  character- 


istic business  of  the  road,  a  summary  of  it 
can  hardly  be  considered  a  digression 
from  the  purpose  of  this  chapter. 

The  total  tonnage  carried  by  the  road  in 
that  year  was  696,617,  of  which  364,997 
tons  were  carried  north  and  331,617  tons 
south.  Of  the  north-bound  shipments ^ 
107,171  tons  originated  at  Galveston  ;  and 
of  the  south-bound  161,645  tons  were 
destined  for  the  city,  a  total  of  268,816 
tons.  The  tonnage  originating  on  the 
road  and  carried  north  was  divided  as  fol- 
lows :  cattle,  68,950  tons ;  other  live 
stock,  9,670  tons;  flour  and  grain,  12,984 
tons ;  wool,  468  tons ;  lumber,  108,466 
tons  ;  the  south-bound  tonnage  had  for  its 
largest  items:  cattle,  7,715  and  other  live 
stock,  2,583  tons;  wool,  5,091  tons;  lum- 
ber, 18,461  tons  ;  cotton  seed,  23, 287  tons  ; 
hay,  3,732  tons ;  stone  for  jetties  and 
other  building  material,  35,142  tons. 

Of  cottoncarried  by  it  during  the  year, 
Galveston  received  more  than  any  mar- 
ket on  its  line.  Of  general  merchandise, 
a  third  of  that  carried  by  the  road  nearly, 
originated  at  Galveston  ;  of  Clumber  30  per 
cent  originates  in  Southeastern  Texas  on 
its  line  or  on  lines  connecting  with  it,  and 
it  is  destined  largely  for  Northern  Texas, 
Kansas  and  Indian  Territory,  which  have 
no  timber  lands ;  of  grain  and  flour,  80 
per  cent  originated  in  Kansas  and  about  20 
per  cent  was  carried  north  from  Galves- 
ton and  other  places  on  the  line ;  of  cattle 
and  live  stock  hauled  by  this  road,  87  per 
cent  was  taken  to  Kansas  City,  Chicago 
and  St.  Louis,  the  remainder  to  Galveston  ; 
while  of  wool,  which  comes  over  this  road 
from  Western  Texas,  over  90  per  cent, 
destined  for  Eastern  markets,  passed 
through  the  hands  of  Galveston  shippers. 

The  shipments  from  Galveston  by  this 
road  in  1888  were  general  merchandise, 
42,125  tons;  railroad  material  for  other 
roads  in  Texas  and  Mexico,  42,077  tons ; 
coal,  9,807  tons ;  flour,  3,826  tons  ;  salt, 
2,268  tons;  bagging  and  ties,  1,665  tons » 
lumber,  1,452  tons;  vegetables  and  fruit, 


38 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


1,421  tons;  cotton  seed  products,  1,193 
tons ;  machinery,  764  tons ;  grain,  573 
tons:  total,  107,171  tons.  These  are  the 
commodities,  that  with  cotton,  make  the 
bulk  of  the  city's  business. 

The  traffic  of  the  road  was  greater  in 
'89,  than  in  the  year  preceding  it.  The 
report  of  the  State  Comptroller  of  Texas 
credits  it  with  a  freight  traffic  of  735,325 
tons,  the  principal  items  of  which  were 
lumber  and  saw  mill  products,  173, 591 
tons,  live  stock  117,859  tons,  building 
material  66,066  tons,  cotton  89,998  tons, 
cotton  seed  44,437  tons,  grain  32,495  tons, 
wool  10,238  tons.  During  the  year  440,- 
385  passengers  were  carried  by  it.  About 
30  freight  trains  are  now  run  by  it  daily 
each  way,  four  of  them  in  and  four  out  of 
Galveston,  and  26  passenger  trains,  four 
in  and  four  out  of  the  city.  As  a  member 
of  the  Santa  Fe  system,  it  has  ample  roll- 
ing stock,  including  Pullman  and  chair 
cars  for  its  passenger  service.  The  road 
bed  is  in  course  of  continuous  improve- 
ment, by  ballasting  with  stone,  by  widen- 
ing cuts  and  embankments,  and  by  sub- 
stituting steel  for  iron  rail.  The  bridges 
over  the  principal  streams  crossed  by  the 
road  are  of  iron,  and  as  a  whole,  its  condi- 
tion is  as  good  as  that  of  any  road  in  the 
country. 

As  its  seaboard  terminal,  Galveston  is 
favored  as  much  as  possible  by  it.  The 
road  has  shops  here  employing  about  150 
hands,  and  as  many  more  men  are  on  its 
local  pay  roll.  It  has  freight  yards  of 
about  700,000  square  feet  area  at  the  west 
end  of  the  city,  and  owns  160 acres  fronting 
the  channel,  on  the  eastern  end  of  the 
island,  between  Fourth  and  Tenth  streets. 
This  was  purchased  with  the  view  of 
building  wharves  and  elevators,  to  provide 
facilities  for  the  transhipment  of  grain 
and  other  Southwestern  products,  and  the 
management  has  plans  under  considera- 
tion for  its  improvement. 

The  company  has  also  along  its  line,  in 
this  State,  acreage  and  town  lots,  for  sale 


with  some  excellent  chances  for  invest- 
ment in  the  growing  towns  upon  it,  in  and 
adjacent  to  which,  it  offers  tracts  at  from 
$2  to  $100  an  acre,  and  lots  at  corres- 
ponding prices. 

The  managing  officers  of  the  Santa  Fe 
are  A.  Manvel,  president;  Geo.  Sealy, 
ist  vice-president;  J.  F.  Goddard,  3d 
vice-president ;  J.  VV.  Rinehart,  4th  vice- 
president ;  J.  H.  Scott,  general  superin- 
tendent; W.  H.  Masters,  general  freight 
agent ;  H.  G.  Thompson,  general  passen- 
ger and  ticket  agent;  T.  W.  Jackson, 
general  land  agent.  Mr.  Manvel's  head- 
quarters are  in  Chicago.  The  others  are 
all  stationed  in  the  company's  general  of- 
fice building,  corner  of  Strand  and  Bath 
avenue,  Galveston. 

OTHER    RAILROAD    MATTERS. 

THESE  three  trunk  lines  have  all  been 
forehanded  in  the  acquisition  of  ter- 
minal and  warehouse  grounds  here.  The 
International  has  obtained  a  portion  of  the 
water  front,  upon  which  to  build  coal  and 
grain  elevators,  wharves  and  other  facili- 
ties to  promote  the  increased  traffic  antici- 
pated from  improvement  of  the  bar.  The 
Southern  Pacific,  parent  corporation  of  the 
Houston  &  Texas  Central  road  and  Mor- 
gan's Steamship  line,  has  a  grant  of 
tide  lands  situated  on  the  harbor  opposite 
the  city,  from  the  county,  for  the  same 
purpose,  and  the  Gulf,  Colorado  & 
Santa  Fe  has  established  shops  and  made 
other  improvements  of  a  permanent  char- 
acter. 

BY  MEANS  OF  THE  TRUNK  LINES  run- 
ning to  Houston,  Galveston  has  the  serv- 
ice of  the  San  Antonio  &  Aransas  Pass 
Railroad,  ramifying,  with  a  main  line 
and  branches  595  miles  long,  all  of  South- 
eastern Texas,  below  the  line  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  road,  and  between  San 
Antonio  and  Corpus  Christ!  on  the  Gulf 
Coast.  The  lines  to  Houston  also  at'fnnl 
it  the  facilities  of  the  Houston,  East  & 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


39 


West  Texas,  a  narrow  gauge  road  192 
miles  long,  penetrating  the  pine  forests  of 
Eastern  Texas. 

THE  GALVESTON  &  WESTERN,  a  nar- 
row gauge  line,  chiefly  used  for  hauling 
sand,  and  for  local  excursions,  extends 
for  fifteen  miles  down  the  Island  of  Gal- 
veston.  It  was  originally  planned  to 
make  the  city  the  northern  terminal  of 
a  projected  line  to  the  City  of  Mexico, 
but  the  scheme  fell  through  It  is  still 
mooted,  however,  from  time  to  time,  as 
likewise,  is  the  project  of  an  airline  from 
Galveston  to  the  northern  boundary  of 
the  State,  and  a  grand  North  and  South 
line  from  some  point  in  the  Dakotas  to 
Galveston,  and  also  lines  from  Central 


Kansas,   Kansas    City    and    other    places 
north. 

A  matter  of  closer  concern  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Galveston,  is  the  question  of  a 
bridge  to  the  mainland,  periodically  raised, 
and  lately  given  rather-  more  attention  in 
the  press  than  usual,  without,  however, 
decisive  action.  The  two  railroad  bridges 
are  temporary  structures,  without  a  foot- 
way. The  daily  market  supplies  are 
largely  brought  into  the  city  by  small 
craft,  and  a  Union  bridge  that  could  be 
used  as  a  public  thoroughfare,  would  be 
a  special  convenience  to  the  body  of  the 
people,  as  well  as  for  trade.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  such  a  bridge  could  be  built 
for  $1,000,000. 


BANKING,  LOANS,  INSURANCE  AND  REAL  ESTATE 


HE  fact  that  a  very  large 
part  of  the  banking  busi- 
ness of  Galveston  is 
done  by  private  bankers, 
makes  it  difficult  to 
arrive  at  the  exact 
amount  of  capital  em- 
barked in  the  regular  banking  channels  of 
the  city.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  it  is 
at  least  $10,000,000  in  the  aggregate,  and 
probably  more.  Of  this  amount,  $1,876,- 
938  is  contributed  by  three  established 
national  banks,  the  First  National,  Gal- 
veston National  and  National  Bank  of 
Texas,  by  a  new  national  bank,  the 
American  National,  now  just  completing 
its  organization,  and  by  one  bank  with  a 
State  charter,  the  Island  City  Savings 
Bank,  which  does  a  commercial  business 
also. 

The  surplus  and  undivided  profits  of 
these  five  banks,  at  the  time  of  their 
spring  statement,  1890,  was  nearly  $400,- 
ooo,  an  amount  indicating  conservative 
management  a  general  characteristic  of 
these  institutions.  The  deposits  with  the 
five  aggregated  at  the  same  time  $2,640,- 
ooo,  $360,897  of  this  savings  deposits, 
their  loans  and  discounts,  $2,500,000  and 
their  total  resources,  $4,300,000. 

There  are,  at  Galveston,  four  staunch 
private  banks,  Ball,  Hutchings  &  Co.,  a 
firm  accredited  by  common  report  with 
fully  $6,000,000  resources,  Adoue  & 
Lobit,  a  partnership  of  the  most  substan- 
tial individual  investments,  H.  Rosenberg 
and  W.  L.  Moody  &  Co.  A  large 
amount  of  capital  is  employed  here  by 
capitalists  and  agencies,  in  banking,  note 
broking  and  mortgage  loans,  and  it  is 
next  to  impossible  to  compute  its  total. 
A  moderate  estimate  makes  the  capital 
represented  by  the  private  banks  at  least 


$6,000,000,  and  by  the  land  and  loans 
agencies  of  the  city,  $3,275,000. 

It  is  certainly  to  be  within  bounds  to  con- 
sider the  banking  capital  of  a  city  having 
$25,000,000  of  jobbing  trade,  and  with 
cotton,  $77,500,000  of  annual  business, 
as  $10,000,000  at  least.  But  other  facts 
bear  out  the  statement.  The  bank  clear- 
ings of  the  year  ending  Sept.  30,  1889,  one 
of  the  private  banks  not  included,  were 
$71,865,673,  an  average  during  the  cotton 
season  of  three  to  four  millions  a  week 
and  three  to  four  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars in  the  dull  term  between  the  season 
of  1888  and  1889.  The  increase  over  the 
year  preceding  was  $15,155,837,  or  28 
per  cent.  The  clearings  during  the  season 
just  closed,  were  four  to  four  and  a  half 
millions  a  week,  indicating  for  the  year 
ending  Sept.  30,  1890.  $100,000,000  of 
total  clearings,  as  much  as  the  inland  cities 
which  have  twice  Galveston's  population 
and  clearings  largely  augmented  by  spec- 
ulation and  boom.  Here  to  the  contrary, 
where  business  is  chiefly  legitimate  mer- 
chandising the  increasing  clearings  signify 
solidly  compacting  wealth. 

Eight  per  cent  is  the  rate  of  interest 
usually  exacted  by  the  banks,  but  money 
can  be  obtained  as  low  as  six.  The  ruling 
rate  of  commercial  discounts  for  gilt  edged 
paper  is  8  and  10  per  cent.  Exchange,  ow- 
ing to  the  exporting  and  importing  traffic 
of  the  city,  makes  a  particularly  large 
fraction  of  the  business  of  the  banks. 
During  the  cotton  season  New  York  ex- 
change is  at  a  buying  rate  of  a  quarter  to 
three-eighths  discount,  and  the  selling 
rate  is  par.  For  the  remainder  of  the 
year  the  buying  rate  is  par  to  three- 
eighths  discount,  according  to  the  cir- 
cumstances of  trade,  chiefly  those  of 
cotton  transactions,  and  similarly, 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


41 


an  eighth  to  a  quarter  premium.  For- 
eign exchange  is  govei'ned  by  the  New 
•  York  rate. 

Mortgage  loans  are  made  for  the  most 
part  by  the  regular  loans  agencies ;  but 
little  is  done  by  the  private  banks.  The 
ruling  rate  on  city  real  estate  loans  is  10 
and  12  per  cent,  legal  country  loans  are 
12  per  cent.  Cotton,  as  the  leading  staple 
of  trade,  makes  the  great  bulk  of  the  busi- 
ness of  the  banks.  After  that,  general 
merchandising  contributes  most. 

The  following  sketches  describe  the 
banks  and  loan  companies  of  the  city 
more  in  detail. 

THE  NATIONAL  BANKS  OF  GALVESTON. 

THE  GALVESTON  NATIONAL  BANK, 
corner  of  Tremont  street  and  the  Strand, 
is  successor  to  the  Texas  Banking  and 
Insurance  Company,  an  old  and  very  sub- 
stantial institution,  established  in  1870. 
The  facilities  of  the  old  bank  were  of 
a  local  character  and  its  sphere  of.  action 
somewhat  circumscribed,  facts  largely 
due  to  its  limited  capital.  These  consid- 
erations led  to  its  nationalization  in  No- 
vember, 1889.  From  $200,000,  its  capi- 
tal was  increased  to  $500,000,  paid  in, 
and  this  enlarged  capital,  supplemented 
by  the  additional  liability  of  half  a  mill- 
ion dollars  afforded  by  wealthy  and 
responsible  stockholders  to  the  depositors, 
was  the  means  of  drawing  immediately 
to  the  Galveston  National  Bank  a  large 
and  substantial  patronage,  not  only  from 
the  city  of  Galveston  but  also  from  every 
point  in  the  State. 

The  management  remains  in  the  same 
capable  hands',  with  the  addition  of  Mr. 
L.  R.  Bergeron,  formerly  identified  with 
other  large  and  influential  moneyed  insti- 
tutions, as  assistant  cashier.  Mr.  R.  S. 
Willis  continues  as  president,  Mr.  H.  A. 
Landes,  as  vice-president,  and  Mr.  T. 
J.  Groce,  as  cashier.  The  directors  ai'e 
Messrs.  Willis,  Landes  and  Groce,  J.  G. 


Goldthwaite,  Fen.  Cannon,  A.  C.  Baker, 
W.  K.  McAlpine,  J.  P.  Davie  and  J.  H. 
Burnett.  To  those  acquainted  with  the 
Galveston  business  community,  these 
names  are  a  "  tower  of  strength."  Mr. 
Willis,  as  head  of  the  great  house  of  P. 
J.  Willis  &  Bro.,  is  one  of  the  foremost 
of  Southern  capitalists  and  merchants. 
Mr.  Landes,  is  of  the  firm  of  Wallis, 
Landes  &  Co.,  wholesale  grocers  and 
cotton  factors  in  Galveston  for  the  past 
thirty  years.  Mr.  Groce,  a  gentleman  of 
sterling  business  qualifications,  was  for- 
merly of  Jemison,  Groce  &  Co.,  cotton 
factors,  and  for  the  past  five  years  vice- 
president  of  the  Texas  Banking  and 
Insurance  Co.  The  other  directors  are 
men  of  high  character  and  solid  resources. 
Mr.  Goldthwaite  is  a  large  stockholder 
in  the  house  of  P.  J.  Willis  &  Bro.  ;  Mr. 
Cannon,  a  grain  dealer  and  extensive 
importer;  Mr.  Davie,  a  wealthy  hardware 
dealer  ;  Mr.  Baker,  a  prominent  figure  in 
the  cotton  trade  of  the  port,  and  Messrs. 
McAlpine  and  Burnett,  well-known  real 
estate  owners  of  Galveston. 

The  deposits  of  the  Galveston  National 
Bank,  as  reported  in  its  official  statement 
to  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency  at 
Washington,  Feb.  28,  1890,  were  $1,187,- 
670.58. 

The  loans  and  discounts  at  the  same 
time  were  reported  as,  $1,049,003.01. 

The  total  resources,  $2,752,709.22. 

The  Galveston  National  Bank  had  then, 
besides  its  capital,  $20,038.64  of  net 
undivided  profits,  the  accumulation  since 
its  recent  organization. 

The  Galveston  National  Bank  lays 
just  claim  to  the  largest  and  most 
comprehensive  system  of  correspondence 
of  any  Texas  bank.  It  has  correspond- 
ents at  every  banking  point  in  the  State 
and  substantial  representatives  at  all 
important  money  centers,  principal  of 
which  are :  The  Mercantile  National 
Bank,  the  Hanover  National  Bank  and 
the  Bank  of  New  York  N.  B.  A.,  of  New 


42 


THE  CITY  OF-  GALVESTON. 


"York  City ;  the  Hibernia  National  Bank, 
New  Orleans  ;  the  National  Bank  of  Com- 
merce and  Continental  National  Bank, 
St.  Louis ;  the  National  Bank  of  Com- 
merce and  American  National  Bank, 
Kansas  City ;  the  Corn  Exchange  Bank, 
Chicago,  and  the  Joint  Stock  Bank,  Lim- 
ited, London.  These  numerous  connec- 
tions enable  the  Galveston  National  Bank 
to  handle  all  lines  of  the  banking  busi- 
ness in  a  prompt  and  thorough  manner 
and  at  the  same  time  materially  strengthen 
its  present  extensive  resources. 

THE  FIRST  NATIONAL  BANK,  corner  of 
Strand  and  Twenty-second  street,  was 
organized  in  1866  with  $200,000  capital. 
It  has  $300,000  now,  and  by  its  statement 
of  January  2yth  last  had  $100,000  surplus, 
and  $54,000  undivided  profits  besides.  Its 
total  resources  then  were  $1,198,823,  its 
deposits  $659,823  and  its  loans  and  dis- 
counts $675,777.  As  a  leading  bank  in 
the  principal  seaport  of  the  Southwest, 
and  one  of  the  primary  cotton  markets  of 
the  world,  it  has  a  very  large  collection 
and  exchange  business ;  and  for  these 
transactions  maintains  the  relation  of  corre- 
spondent with  the  following  institutions 
in  other  leading  cities :  New  York,  the 
National  Park  bank ;  Boston,  the  Mav- 
erick National ;  Chicago,  the  First  Na- 
tional ;  St.  Louis,  the  Third  National ; 
New  Orleans,  the  Louisiana  National  and 
N.  O.  Canal  &  Banking  Co.  ;  San  Fran- 
cisco, the  Pacific.  National,  and  London, 
England,  Kleinvort  Sons  &  Co. 

The  First  National  of  Galveston  has 
been  fortunate  in  its  management.  Its 
directory  is  made  up  of  the  foremost  busi- 
ness men  of  the  city,  and  they  have  given 
it  a  progressive  policy.  It  was  the  first 
bank  here  to  reduce  the  rate  of  exchange 
and  discount  after  the  war,  and  it  has  been 
as  liberal  in  its  accommodations  to  local 
enterprises  as  sound  methods  would  per- 
mit. Julius  Runge  has  been  its  president 
since  it  was  organized  in  1879;  E.  S. 
Flint,  of  Lammers  &  Flint,  cotton  and 


wool  factors,  is  vice  president ;  L.  M. 
Openheimer,  cashier.  The  directors  are 
Julias  Runge,  M.  Lasker,  Leon  Blum. 
John  Reymershoffer,  Albert  Weis,  Julius 
Weber  and  H.  Kempner. 

Mr.  Runge  is  German  consul  here  and 
city  treasurer.  As  administrator  of  the 
city's  finances  (in  his  capacity  of  chair- 
man of  the  Finance  Committee  of  the 
Board  of  Aldermen  of  Galveston)  be- 
tween 1877  and  1880,  he  was  chiefly 
instrumental  in  refunding  the  city's 
indebtedness  and  restoring  her  credit, 
which  after  the  war,  was  for  some  time  at 
a  very  low  ebb.  He  is  a  leading  spirit  in 
many  other  enterprises  here  besides  the 
bank,  in  fact  was  a  prime  mover  in  many 
of  the  most  notable  corporate  concerns  of 
the  city,  among  others,  the  Galveston 
Cotton  and  Woolen  mills,  the  new  Packing 
Company,  cotton  compresses,  street  rail- 
ways, land  and  loan  companies,  etc.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Kauffman  & 
Runge,  cotton  factors,  and  is  president, 
also,  of  the  Cotton  Exchange  of  the  city. 

Mr.  Lasker  is  a  capitalist  and  land 
owner.  Mr.  Reymershoffer  is  one  of  the 
proprietors  of  the  Texas  Star  Flour  Mills 
here.  Mr.  Weis  is  a  wholesale  dry  goods 
dealer.  Mr.  Weber  is  the  representative 
here  of  the  great  German  cotton  house  of 
Knoop  Frericks  &  Co.  Leon  Blum  is 
the  senior  member  of  Leon  &  H.  Blum, 
wholesale  dry  goods  dealers,  and  president 
of  the  Leon  &  H.  Blum  Land  Company, 
both  ranking  among  the  largest  enterprises 
of  their  kind  in  the  West  or  Southwest. 
H.  Kempner  is  one  of  the  largest  capi- 
talists in  Texas,  and  is  a  cotton  factor,  in 
which  trade  he  has  long  received  on  con- 
signment, more  cotton  than  any  other  firm 
in  the  Southwest. 

THE  NATIONAL  BANK  OF  Ti :\  \s. 
corner  of  Twenty-second  and  Strand,  had. 
at  the  time  of  its  statement  of  Sept  3Oth 
last,  total  resources  of  $423,633.  Of 
this  $267,608  was  loans  and  discount-. 
The  capital  stock  of  this  bank,  $100,000, 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


43 


is  all  paid  in,  and  it  appears  also  that  it 
has  a  $20,000  surplus  and  $22,000  of 
undivided  profits.  The  deposits  with  it 
daily  are  about  $175,000.  Its  loans  and 
discounts  run  from  $250,000  to  $325,000. 
It  has  especial  facilities  for  prompt 
collections  and  returns  throughout  Texas. 
Its  New  York  correspondents  are  the 
American  Exchange  National  and  the 
Importers  and  Traders'  National. 

The  National  Bank  of  Texas  has  had 
good  management  from  its  foundation  in 
1866,  and  it  is  in  hands  now  that  continue 
to  give  character  and  standing.  Col.  W. 
L.  Moody  is  its  president,  W.  L.  Moody, 
Jr.,  son  of  Col.  Moody,  banker  and  cotton 
factor  of  New  York  and  Galveston,  is 
vice-president,  G.  D.  Morgan  is 
cashier.  The  directors  are  Mr.  Wallis, 
W.  L.  Moody  and  W.  L.  Moody.  Jr.,  T. 
C.  Thompson,  of  the  Thompson  Drug 
Co  ;  J.  F.  Smith,  of  J.  F.  Smith  &  Bro., 
sash,  doors  and  blinds  ;  Geo.  M.  Courts, 
of  Clark  &  Courts,  printers  and  station- 
ers, and  Col.  Walter  Gresham,  attorney 
and  legislator. 

Cashier  Morgan  has  been  connected 
with  this  bank  for  the  past  seven  years, 
He  was  formerly  its  teller  and  was  elected 
cashier  at  the  January  meeting  of  the 
directors. 

A  NEW  NATIONAL  BANK,  the  Ameri- 
can, was  organized  lately  by  the  election 
of  directors  as  follows :  N.  Weekes,  F. 
Lammers,  G.  B.  Miller,  J.  D.  Skinner, 
John  Focke,  Gust  Heye,  W.  F.  Ladd,  J. 
E.  Wallis  and  J.  E.  Rogers.  Mr. 
Weekes  was  chosen  president,  Mr. 
Lammers  vice-president  and  Mr.  Ed. 
McCarthy,  formerly  cashier  of  the  Island 
City  Savings  Bank,  cashier.  The  capital 
stock  of  this  bank  is  $500,000.  It  will 
be  ready  for  business  about  the  first  of 
June. 

STATE  AND  PRIVATE  BANKS. 

THE  ISLAND  CITY  SAVINGS  BANK  OF 
GALVESTON,  which  has  enjoyed  a  very 


large  measure  of  prosperity  and  success 
of  late  years,  has  recently,  by  a  transfer  of 
interests,  passed  under  control  of  the 
Citizens'  Loan  Company,  which,  as  the 
account  of  it  on  another  page  of  this 
work  discloses,  counts  its  stock  in  the 
bank  amongst  its  most  substantial 
assets.  In  consequence  of  this  transfer, 
there  has  been  a  change,  lately,  in  the 
executive  personnel  of  the  bank,  but  it 
proceeds  along  the  same  lines  which  have 
widened  its  sphere  as  a  savings  institu- 
tion and  broadened  its  scope  for  commer- 
cial business  at  one  and  the  same  time. 

Mr.  Albert  Weis,  whose  manufacturing 
and  commercial  interests  are  referred  to 
in  another  part  of  this  book,  has  been 
elected  president  of  the  bank.  His 
administrative  abilities  are  of  so  high  an 
order  that  they  have  been  accorded  like 
recognition  in  other  important  local  enter- 
prises with  which  he  is  identified.  Mr. 
Jos.  F.  Campbell,  cashier,  is  a  gentleman 
of  large  and  varied  business  experience, 
and  of  an  energy  and  application  that 
particulary  fit  htm  for  the  position  to 
which  he  has  been  chosen.  Mr.  F.  Wool- 
verton,  assistant  cashier,  has  been  con- 
nected, for  many  years,  with  the  National 
Bank  of  Texas,  and  assumes  this  new 
position  with  a  ripened  experience  that 
makes  him  a  valuable  accession  to  the 
staff  of  the  institution. 

The  directors  chosen  for  the  ensuing 
year  are  the  following  prominent  and 
successful  business  men  of  Galvestoru: 
M.  Ullmann,  of  Ullmann,  Lewis  &  Co., 
wholesale  grocers,  who  is  also  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  bank,  a  merchant  so  widely  and 
favorably  known  that  his  name  is  a  source 
of  strength  to  the  institution ;  Julius 
Runge,  of  the  firm  of  Kauffman  &  Runge. 
and  president  of  the  First  National  Bank 
of  Galveston  ;  Gus  Lewy,  of  Gus  Lewy 
&  Co.,  wholesale  grocers;  M.  Lasker, 
capitalist  and  president  of  the  Lasker 
Real  Estate  Co.  ;  Robert  Born ef eld,  cot- 
ton buyer;  R.  B.  Hawley,  of  Hawley  & 


44 


THE   CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


Heidenheimer,  commission  merchants  and 
importers  of  coffee ;  J.  Weinberger,  of 
Ratto,  Lang  &  Weinberger,  candy  manu- 
facturers, importers  and  wholesale  deal- 
ers in  fruits ;  J.  S.  Rogers,  manager  of 
the  Texas  Co-operative  Association.  The 
character  and  standing  of  these  gentlemen 
is  a  guarantee  that  the  reputation  estab- 
lished by  the  bank  will  be  maintained 
unimpaired,  and  that  its  business  will  de- 
velop in  the  future  as  it  has  in  the  past. 

On  April  ist,  1890,  when  a  statement 
was  rendered  by  it,  the  Island  City  Sav- 
ings Bank  had  a  capital  paid  in  of  $100,- 
ooo  and  a  surplus  of  $100.000  and  had 
undivided  profits  besides  of  $50.900.37. 
The  deposits  with  it  at  the  same  time 
aggregated  $627,260.80,  and  of  total 
resources  aggregating  $896,274.49,  there 
was  credited  to  loans  and  discounts, 
$528,746.19,  to  sight  exchange  on  New 
York  and  other  points,  $219,222.19  and 
to  cash  on  hand  $110,834.60. 

Savings  deposits  of  $360,897.67,  were  a 
showing  of  its  utility  to  the  thrifty  work- 
ing classes  of  the  city.  Four  per  cent 
interest  is  paid  on  such  deposits,  which 
are  taken  in  amounts  as  small  as  fifty 
cents.  It  thus  affords  a  safe  and  remuner- 
ative depository  to  persons  who  are  en- 
couraged, by  its  assistance,  to  economize 
sums  that  might  otherwise,  perhaps,  be 
frittered  away. 

While  the  savings  department  of  the 
bank  is  of  special  importance  to  it,  and 
will  be  conducted  and  guarded  with  jeal- 
ous care,  its  commercial  business  is  by  no 
means  of  small  proportions.  Exchange 
and  collections  are  notable  features  of 
this  branch  of  its  business.  It  has  facili- 
ties for  collections  on  all  Texas  points 
that  are  unsurpassed,  and  has  on  its  list 
of  correspondents  the  following  banks  in 
cities  doing  a  considerable  business  with 
Galveston :  In  New  York  City,  the  Bank 
of  New  York  (N.  B  A.),  and  the  Chemi- 
cal National ;  in  New  Orleans,  the  State 
National ;  in  St.  Louis,  the  Fourth 


National ;  in  Kansas  City,  the  Midland 
National ;  in  Chicago,  the  Northwestern 
National,  and  in  Cincinnati,  the  Equitable 
National.  Bills  are  also  drawn  by  it  on 
all  principal  cities  of  this  country  and 
Europe. 

Correspondence  and  inquiry  is  invited 
by  the  management  of  the  bank.  It 
will  have  careful,  prompt  and  business- 
like consideration.  The  methods  em- 
ployed by  the  bank  are  similar  to  those  in 
vogue  in  like  institutions  elsewhere  Its 
cashier  and  subordinates  are  all  under 
bond,  and  are  forbidden  pursuits  conflict- 
ing with  their  duties.  Its  books  are  regu- 
larly inspected  by  its  directory.  It  is  the 
only  bank  in  the  State  authorized  by  law 
to  receive  trust  funds  for  heirs  and  minors. 
It  has  been  established  for  twe'nty  years. 

BALL,  HUTCHINGS  &  Co.,  corner  of 
Strand  and  Twenty-fourth  street,  have 
long  been  the  most  notable  private  bank- 
ers of  the  South.  They  are  ranked  un- 
commonly high  among  bankers  generally 
as  to  their  resources ;  they  have  larger 
transactions  than  manv  of  the  incorporated 
banks  of  the  country,  and  they  carry  the 
name  of  Galveston  to  many  remote  places 
where  little  else  than  their  high  standing 
is  known  of  its  general  business  affairs. 
Their  name  is  made  familiar  by  exchange 
drawn  and  transactions  with  the  National 
City  and  Fourth  National  banks,  New- 
York  ;  the  National  Bank  of  North 
America,  Boston ;  the  Mechanics'  bank, 
and  St.  Louis  National,  St.  Louis ;  the 
Louisiana  National  and  Whitney  National, 
New  Orleans,  and  Baring  Bros..  London. 

The  surviving  partners  of  the  original 
firm  of  Ball,  Hutchings  &  Co.,  Messrs. 
J.  H.  Hutchings  and  George  Sealy.  are 
men  of  large  and  valuable  property  pos- 
sessions. Mr.  Hutchings  is  identified  by 
interests  in  them,  with  most  of  the  promi- 
nent enterprises  of  the  city.  He  is  presi- 
dent of  the  City  Company,  which  laid  the 
foundations  for  the  municipality  of  Gal- 
veston 50  years  ago,  and  from  which  all 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


the  land  titles  of  the  city  originate  ;  has 
been  president  of  the  Galveston  Wharf 
Co.,  which  controls  the  water  front  of  the 
port  and  is  engaged  in  cotton  compresses 
and  other  ventures  of  every  sort. 

Mr.  Sealy  has  been  president  of  the 
Gulf,  Colorado  &  Santa  Fe  R.  R.,  and 
was  one  of  the  most  active  in  its  reorgani- 
zation and  building  after  the  reverses  at 
one  time  met  with.  He  is  a  director  and 
prominent  member  of  the  Cotton  Ex- 
change, and  he  has  interests  also  in  very 
many  of  the  corporate  enterprises  of  the 
island.  He  is  now  building  on  Bath  ave- 
nue, what  gives  promise  of  being  the 
finest  private  residence  in  all  Texas.  The 
firm  owns  also  extensive  sugar  plantations 
on  the  Brazos  in  Texas. 

Nor  has  their  interest  in  Galveston  been 
manifested  only  in  the  material  advance- 
ment of  their  environment.  Mr.  Sealy 
has  contributed  both  time  and  money  for 
religious,  charitable  and  educational  pur- 
poses. In  all  popular  measures,  as  the 
movement  for  deep  water,  he,  acting  for 
his  firm  as  well  as  for  himself,  has  exerted 
him  to  the  utmost  to  forward  the  matter 
in  hand.  Upon  occasions  of  public  mo- 
ment, the  advice,  as  well  as  influence  of  the 
firm,  is  early  solicited  and  is  as  promptly 
enlisted,  and  the  words  of  the  junior  part- 
ner have  weight  in  the  counsels  of  the 
Cotton  Exchange,  which  is  the  commer- 
cial chamber  of  the  city. 

Mr.  Hutchings  came  to  Galveston  in 
1845.  He  engaged  in  merchandising  busi- 
ness, and  was  for  a  number  of  years  in 
partnership  with  John  Sealy  (deceased)  at 
Sabine,  as  cotton  factors  and  general 
tradesmen.  The  firm  of  Ball,  Hutchings 
&  Co.,  comprising  the  interests  of  Geo. 
Ball — the  founder  of  the  Ball  School  here 
— of  Mr  Hutchings  and  Mr.  John  Sealy 
(the  founder  of  the  Sealy  Hospital),  was 
established  in  1854  to  do  a  general  busi- 
ness in  cotton  and  the  staples,  with  bank- 
ing in  connection.  Gradually  the  banking 
business  overshadowed  all  other  interests 


of  the  firm  and  after  the  war  trading  was 
discontinued.  Mr.  Geo.  Sealy  acquired  his 
interest  in  1865.  The  surviving  widows 
of  Messrs.  Ball  and  John  Sealy  also  have 
an  interest'each  in  the  bank. 

The  transactions  of  this  bank  during 
the  past  year,  it  is  said,  reached  the  enor- 
mous aggregate  of  $90,000,000. 

ADOUE  &  LOBIT,  bankers,  at  Strand 
and  Twentieth  street,  are  rated  as  having 
resources  quite  as  substantial  as  any 
banking  house  in  Texas.  Their  invest- 
ments in  the  most  profitable  enterprises 
of  the  city  are  evidence  of  that.  Mr. 
Adoue  is  president  of  the  Galveston 
Cotton  Seed  Oil  Mill,  one  of  the  largest 
in  the  Southwest,  is  one  of  the  principals 
in  the  Galveston  Steamship  and  Lighter 
Co.,  vice-president  of  the  Texas  Ice  and 
Cold  Storage  Co.,  president  of  the 
Electric  Light  Co.,  president  of  the 
Galveston  Bagging  and  Cordage  Co.  ;  and 
the  firm  is  interested  in  many  other 
concerns  here  and  in  other  parts  of  the 
State.  He  and  Mr.  Lobit  are  partners 
also  in  the  banking  firm  of  Flippen, 
Adoue  &  Lobit  of  Dallas.  In  any  and 
every  undertaking  with  which  they  may 
be  connected,  they  exhibit  a  most  ener- 
getic and  enterprising  spirit. 

Messrs.  Adoue  &  Lobit  began  business 
as  merchandisers  and  bankers  in  the 
country  in  1865  ;  but,  foreseeing  the  rise  of 
Galveston,  established  themselves  here  in 
1873,  and  have  devoted  themselves  to 
banking  business.  They  have  the  patron- 
age of  the  largest  business  houses  and 
many  of  the  corporations  here,  and  they 
do  more  foreign  exchange  business  than 
any  bank  of  the  city.  Mr.  Adoue  is  the 
consul  here  for  Sweden  and  Norway. 

W.  L.  MOODY  &  Co.,  bankers  and 
cotton  factors,  corner  of  Twenty-second 
and  Strand,  have  a  capital  embarked  in 
their  business  (according  to  its  exigen- 
cies) of  from  $500,000  to  $750,000.  Col. 
Moody,  senior  member  of  the  firm,  has 
been  a  cotton  factor  here  since  1866,  and 


REPRESENTATIVE    MEN    OK    GAI.VESTON. 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


47 


having  been  prominent  also  in  public 
affairs  in  which  the  city  has  been  espec- 
ially concerned,  like  the  movement  to 
secure  deep  water  for  the  port,  has  con- 
siderably more  than  a  local  reputation. 
He  was  a  gallant  soldier  of  the  war,  and 
concluded  his  service  m  behalf  of  the 
South,  possessed  of  both  scars  and  laurels. 
He  was  president  of  the  Cotton  Exchange 
for  twelve  years,  was  one  of  the  most 
active  promoters  of  the  project  for  the 
Gulf,  Colorado  &  Santa  Fe  Railroad,  has 
been  a  State  legislator,  and  his  name  has 
frequently  been  mentioned  for  higher 
offices  of  a  similar  character.  He  dis- 
played his  financial  abilities  while  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Legislature,  by  negotiat- 
ing sale  of  nearly  $2,000,000  of  State 
bonds ;  he  has  been  a  director  of  many 
enterprises,  such  as  railroads,  banks,  etc.. 
and  until  quite  recently,  besides  being  a 
director  of  the  Texas  Banking  &  Insur- 
ance Co.,  was  president  of  the  National 
Bank  of  Texas,  which  has  its  banking 
house  in  his  building. 

His  qualifications  for  financial  business 
are  thus  cleai'ly  indicated.  He  has  asso- 
ciated with  him,  his  son  W.  L.  Jr.,  who 
is  the  manager  of  the  New  York  branch 
of  W.  L.  Moody  &  Co.'s  bank,  F.  B. 
Moody,  also  his  son,  and  L.  F.  Moody,  his 
brother.  The  banking  house  of  Moody 
&  Co.  was  only  established  in  1887,  but 
already  its  business  is  such  as  to  call  for  a 
separation  of  it  from  the  cotton  business 
of  the  firm.  These  interests  however, 
the  growth  of  years,  are  too  large  hastily 
to  abandon.  Last  season  W.  L.  Moody 
&  Co.  handled  25,000  bales  of  cotton  and 
300,000  pounds  of  wool. 

As  bankers,  the  firm  purchase  and  sell 
stocks  on  commission  and  handle  bonds 
and  investment  securities.  The  New 
York  concern  is  at  44  Wall  street. 

H.  ROSENBERG'S  private  bank  ranks 
high  among  the  financial  agencies  of  Gal- 
veston.  Mr.  Rosenberg  began  business 


here  in  1843  as  a  dry  goods  merchant,  and 
has  been  a  banker  exclusively  since  1874. 
In  that  year  he  organized  the  Galveston 
Banking  and  Trust  Company,  which  he 
has  since  succeeded.  He  maintains  the 
only  safe  deposit  vaults  of  the  city. 

Mr.  Rosenberg  owns  a  great  deal  of 
rental  property  in  Galveston  and  has 
large  landed  possessions  besides,  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  State.  He  is  a  stock- 
holder in  most  of  the  corporate  enterprises 
of  the  city,  and  is  vice-president  of  the 
Galveston  Wharf  Company.  The  Rosen- 
berg School,  shown  in  an  illustration  of 
this  work,  was  built  by  him,  and  presented, 
completely  appointed,  with  its  site,  to  the 
city.  The  building  alone  cost  $70,000. 

LOAN    AGENCIES    OF    THE    CITY. 

THERE  are  twelve  organizations  en- 
gaged in  loans  arid  building  operations  at 
Galveston,  and  lately  the  prospectus  of  a 
new  Co-operative  Savings  Association 
has  been  issued.  Three  of  these  are  loan 
companies  exclusively,  long  established, 
very  successful,  of  large  capitalization 
and  resident  stockholders  only.  These 
three,  the  Texas  Land  and  Loan  Com- 
pany, the  Citizens'  Loan  Company  and 
the  Lasker  Real  Estate  Association,  have 
$i  368,500  of  capital  paid  in.  and  accu- 
mulated profits  ;  the  Texas  Land  and  Loan 
Co  $530,000  of  cash  capital  and  earn- 
ings, the  Citizens'  $536,000  of  capital 
and  undivided  profits  and  the  Lasker 
Association  $302,000  of  capital  and  sur- 
plus. 

THE  CITIZENS'  LOAN  COMPANY,  which 
has  offices  on  Strand  between  Twentieth 
and  Twenty-first  streets,  was  chartered  in 
April,  1879,  with  $300,000  capital  stock, 
to  be  paid  in  installments  by  the  subscrib- 
ers, for  the  purpose,  primarily,  of  accu- 
mulating funds  to  aid  its  members  to 
acquire  and  improve  Galveston  real 
estate ;  but  also  to  acquire  both  real  and 


48 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


personal  property  as  a  corporation,  and 
to  loan  on  unencumbered  real  estate, 
stocks,  bonds  and  other  securities.  This 


of  net  earnings,  three  dividends  of  two 
per  cent  each  had  been  declared  during 
the  year,  leaving  the  $36.000  of  undi- 


1  Ml  NjJ-*v=^- — ** ^±=-*i!T* —         "       ~~  _         •*** 


RESIDENCE    EAST    END    OK   GALVESTON. 


latter,  in  the  course  of  business,  has 
become  its  specialty. 

From  the  report  of  its  auditors,  dated 
April  9,  1890,  its  eleventh  annual  state- 
ment, it  appears  that  it  has  total  assets  of 
$746,134  as  compared  with  $708,320  a 
year  before,  and  that  the  principal  items 
of  assets  were  $248,798  of  loans  on  real 
estate,  stocks,  etc.,  1501  shares  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Galveston,  valued  at 
$241,615  and  953  shares  (a  controlling 
interest,  lately  acquired  by  it)  of  the 
Island  City  Savings  Bank,  valued  at 
$238,726.  Accounted  liabilities  were  its 
capital  stock  of  $550,000,  five  per  cent 
bonds  outstanding  to  the  amount  of  $41.- 
ooo,  bills  payable  $119,000  and  $36,000 
of  undivided  profits. 

The  total  income  for  the  year  was 
$72,263,  the  disbursements  on  account  of 
management  $9,648.  From  the  $62,614 


vided  profits  spoken  of,  still  remaining. 
The  gross  profits  compared  to  capital 
stock  were  13  per  cent,  to  assets  9^, 
and  the  net  profits'  were  ni  per 
cent  of  the  capital  stock  and  S£  of  assets. 

It  appears  from  this  statement  that  the 
Citizens'  Loan  Company  is  not  only  one 
of  the  most  prosperous  and  substantial  of 
the  financial  agencies  of  Galveston,  but 
that  it  does  a  conservative  and  sure  busi- 
ness and  in  its  aggregated  transactions 
suffers  nothing  by  comparison  with  some 
of  the  local  banks. 

Of  the  original  management  of  the 
company,  one  official  onlv  is  still  direct- 
ing its  affairs,  Air.  Albert  Weis  of  Weis 
Bros.,  wholesale  dry  goods  of  the  city. 
Mr.  Weis  is  also  largely  interested  in 
manufacturing  and  other  business  projects 
here.  He  is  president  of  the  Citizens', 
and  has  associated  with  him  in  its  dircc- 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


49 


tory,  Julius  Weber,  Gus.  Lewy,  C.  Fow- 
ler, Jr.,  H.  J.  Runge,  M.  Lasker  and  J. 
Rosenfield,  all  prominent  business  men  of 
Galveston,  notable  as  traders  in  cotton, 
merchandise,  real  estate,  etc.  Mr.  Rosen- 
field  is  vice-president  of  the  company, 
Mr  W.  F.  Beers  of  Beers,  Kennison  & 
Co.,  insurance  agents,  secretary,  and  Mr. 
R.  V.  Davidson  attorney. 

The  company,  as  has  been  said,  has 
lately  bought  the  majority  of  the  stock  of 
the  Island  City  Savings  Bank,  a  local  insti- 
tution of  substantial  resources  and  high 
credit. 

THE  LASKER  REAL  ESTATE  ASSOCIA- 
TION, is  a  loan  and  investment  company, 
chartered  by  the  State,  engaged  in  busi- 
ness here  and  in  other  parts  of  Texas  for' 
the  last  four  years,  and  having  $252,500 
paid  in  capital  and  a  surplus  of  $50,000. 
Its  operations  are  confined  to  improved 
property,  located  in  Texas. 

The  loans  of  this  association  are  made 
upon  as  liberal  terms  as  those  of  any 
company  engaged  in  the  business  in  the 


State.  Principal  and  interest  may  be 
paid  in  monthly  installments.  The 
amount  loaned  depends  on  the  value  and 
prospects  of  the  security.  Interest  is  8 
to  12  per  cent.  The  association  buys 
property  and  holds  it  for  rental  chiefly. 

Those  interested  are  men  as  substantial 
as  any  in  Texas.  Mr.  Morris  Lasker, 
president  of  the  company,  is  one  of  the 
largest  real  estate  owners  of  the  State. 
He  was  formerly  a  merchant  here  in  the 
wholesale  grocery  business,  but  is  inter- 
ested now  in  enterprises  of  a  miscella- 
neous character,  such  as  the  Galveston 
Cotton  and  Woolen  Mills,  the  Lone  Star 
Cracker  Factory,  the  Citizens'  Loan  Co. 
and  the  First  National  Bank,  etc.,  of  this 
city,  in  all  which  he  is  a  director.  Mr. 
Adoue,  the  vice-president,  is  of  the  firm 
of  Adoue  &  Lobit,  bankers  of  this  city, 
and  Flippen,  Adoue  &  Lobit,  bankers  of 
Dallas,  is  an  ex-president  of  the  Electric 
Light  Co.  of  Galveston,  and  now  presi- 
dent of  several  other  local  corporations. 

The    secretary    and    treasurer    of    the 


SUBURBAN    RESIDENCE,   GALVESTON. 


50 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


association  is  Mr.  D.  Sachs,  a  resident 
here  for  several  years,  a  graduate  of 
Heidelberg,  where  he  matriculated  as 
Doctor  of  Laws.  He  has  an  ample  ex- 
perience of  the  business  he  is  entrusted 
with.  The  offices  of  the  association  are 
on  Mechanic  street,  between  Twenty- 
first  and  Twenty-second. 

REAL    ESTATE    AND    LANDS. 

PROSPECTIVE  enlargement  of  the  Island 
City,  disclosed  by  the  favorable  congres- 
sional action  on  the  Galveston  harbor  bill, 
has  enlivened  the  real  estate  business 
already.  In  the  transfers  of  the  first  nine 
weeks  of  the  current  year  values  aggre- 
gating $2,000,000  were  involved;  in  the 
first  three  months  of  the  year,  $7,000,000 
worth  of  property  changed  hands ;  and 
the  sales  since  show  a  steady  weekly  in- 
crease. Outside  capital  gave  the  first 
impetus,  but  the  residents  of  the  city 
display  their  faith  in  its  future  by  liberal 
investment  themselves.  Some  of  the 
most  experienced  and  enterprising  of 
Western  operators,  anticipating  a  rise  in 
prices,  and  desirous  to  participate  in  it  at 
the  outset,  have  been  drawn  here,  and 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  a 
genuine  revival  in  realty  has  begun. 

But  the  influences  forwarding  Galveston 
are  in  esse  as  well  as  in  posse.  The  sub- 
structure of  a  solid  city  has  been  concreted 
here  by  fifty  years — the  war  excepted — of 
steady  growth.  Once  only  in  the  history 
of  the  place  has  the  spirit  of  inflation 
resulted  in  boom,  in  1871,  when  many 
who  had  purchased  on  a  rising  market 
were  forced  to  a  sacrifice  to  meet  the  pay- 
ments they  were  pledged  to  make ;  and 
this  experience  was  so  impressive  a 
lesson,  that  it  accounts,  in  part,  for  the 
very  moderate  prices  of  Galveston  prop- 
erty to-day. 

An  enhancement  of  property  valua- 
tions at  Galveston  may  be  predicated  upon 
material  conditions.  Upon  a  growth  in 


population  during  the  last  decade  from 
22,250  to  51,500,  or  133  per  cent.  Upon 
a  growth  in  manufactures  during  the  same 
period  from  $2,375,000  to  $5.000,000,  or 
115  per  cent.  Upon  a  growth  in  trade 
at  the  same  time,  not  counting  the 
extraordinary  Western  transit  business  of 
the  port,  developed  in  the  last  ten 
years,  from  $30,000,000  for  the  year, 
to  $87,500,000,  or  292  per  cent, 
and  of  exports,  foreign,  from  $16,750,000 
to  $52,000,000,  or  212  per  cent.  And 
incidentally,  upon  the  metropolitanization 
of  the  city  meanwhile,  metropolitaniza- 
tion through  permanent  impi-ovements  of 
architecture,  of  water  supply  and  public 
works ;  through  multiplying  social  and 
educational  advantages,  and  its  growing 
favor  as  a  summer  resort. 

Whatever  her  aspirations  as  the  sea- 
port of  the  West,  the  growth  of  the  city 
is  furthered  most  by  the  aggrandizement 
of  Texas.  Since  1880  the  population  of 
the  State  has  increased  from  1,500,000  to 
2,500,000,  at  the  least  75  per  cent;  the 
crop  product  from  $85,000,000  to  $170,- 
000,000  market  values.  100  per  cent ;  the 
the  railroad  mileage  from  4,000  to  8.400, 
1 10  per  cent,  and  the  assessed  valuations 
from  $304,000,000  to  $729,000,000,  140 
percent.  And  still,  settlement  of  the  un- 
occupied areas  of  the  State  proceeds  at  a 
rate  that  has  evoked  the  prediction  of  a 
banker  of  Galveston,  that  the  growth  of  the 
State  in  the  last  ten  years,  will  be  re- 
peated in  the  next  three. 

The  animation  of  the  Galveston  real 
estate  market  is  exhibited  rather  in  a 
greater  demand  for  property  than  in 
rapidly  advancing  prices,  except,  perhaps, 
in  the  West  End,  where  factories  are  con- 
centring. Property  here  is  still  very 
much  lower  than  in  Dallas,  for  instance, 
or  in  other  prosperous  cities  of  the 
country ;  and  beginning  at  its  circumfer- 
ence, this  demand  for  realty  has  gradually 
extended  inward  to  the  very  center  of  the 
city.  The  transfers  at  first  were  mainly 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


51 


of  acreage  and  outside  tracts.  The  effect 
of  an  active  market  has  been  to  list  im- 
proved property  in  the  business  precincts, 
which  has  not  been  on  sale  for  years. 

The  prices  prevailing  at  the  beginning 
of  the  year,  are  given  as  follows  by  a  firm 
long  established  here  in  the  land  and  real 
estate  business,  and  doing  perhaps  the 
largest  business  of  any  in  that  line. 

Property  in  Galveston  is  sold  by  the  lot, 
single  or  double,  usually.  Blocks  from 
the  bay  front  on  avenue  A,  to  avenue  M 
inclusive,  are  300  feet  by  260,  and  com- 
prise ten  lots  26x120  feet  each.  Beyond 
that  there  are  fourteen  lots  to  the  block, 
and  in  the  outskirts  four.  The  Strand  is 
the  principal  wholesale  street.  It  is  well 
built  up  and  but  little  of  it  is  for  sale. 
Tremont  is  the  main  avenue  north  and 
south  from  the  bay  to  the  beach.  Five 
years  ago  $30,000  was  offered  and  re- 
fused for  the  improved  corner  of  Tremont 
and  Strand.  About  the  same  time  $20,000 
was  considered  a  good  price  for  property 
on  Strand.  Improved  property  there  is 
worth  $15,000  to  $40,000  according  to  the 
area,  single  or  double,  of  the  lot,  and  the 
value  set  on  the  improvements. 

Not  counting  improvements,  lots  on 
Market  or  Tremont  street,  in  the  retail 
quarter,  are  worth  $20,000.  There  is  little 
if  any  here  for  sale.  Six  lots  42x120  each 
at  Eighteenth  and  Market  streets,  just  on 
the  edge  of  the  business  quarter,  could  be 
got  for  $15,000  last  winter.  They  have 
certainly  advanced  since.  The  fashion- 
able residence  quarter  lies  along  and  ad- 
jacent to  Tremont  street  and  Broadway. 
First-class  inside  residence  sites  are  worth 
$1,500  to  $2,000  a  lot;  less  choice  loca- 
tions $  i  ,000  ;  on  Broadway  or  Tremont 
street,  $2,500.  These  prices  are  for  lots 
from  ten  to  twenty  blocks  from  the  busi- 
ness center.  Outskirts  lots,  are  worth  $300 
to  $500,  and  residence  lots  near  factories 
or  in  other  depreciating  situations  $500  to 
$800.  Manufacturing  sites,  with  ship- 
ping facilities  adjacent,  are  worth  $9,000 


or  $  10,000  a  block  of  fourteen  lots.  There 
has  been  an  advance  of  30  to  40  per  cent 
in  a  year,  in  West  End  sites,  due  to  the 
building  of  factories  there.  Acreage  out- 
side the  corporate  limits,  at  Fifty-sixth 
street,  suitable  for  platting,  has  been  sell- 
ing at  $150  to  $250  an  acre. 

Topographical  conditions  make  the 
probability  of  growth  greatest  westward. 
The  eastern  end  of  the  city  is  already 
densely  settled.  The  gradients  of  the  island 
are  such  as  to  make  both  streets  and  lots  im- 
mediately available.  There  is  ample  room 
adown  the  length  of  the  island  for  exten- 
sion, and  for  choice  of  sites  for  any  pur- 
pose, business,  residence  or  manufactur- 
ing. The  titles  are  all  derived  from  the 
Spanish  grant  of  Seguin,  through  Me- 
nard,  founder  of  the  city,  and  the 
City  Company,  his  assigns.  Abundant 
water  is  provided  for  all  by  the 
city's  new  artesian  works.  There  is 
a  gas  and  an  electric  lighting  company 
having  public  franchises,  besides  the  mu- 
nicipal plant.  Street  cars  afford  transit 
facilities  everywhere  in  the  city.  No 
onerous  burdens  of  taxes  for  householders 
or  licenses  for  manufacturers  are  levied. 
Taxes  are  $2.57^  per  hundred  for  all  pur- 
poses, city,  county  and  State.  Business 
generally  is  brisk,  but  living  is  as  cheap 
as  anywhere  in  the  land.  And  the  cli- 
mate, take  it  for  all  in  all,  is  very  near  the 
golden  mean.  The  estates  of  J.  C. 
League  and  J.  L.  Darragh,  have  city 
lands  for  sale,  and  the  City  Company  also 
has  tracts  to  dispose  of. 

The  income  from  rental  property  is 
likely  to  increase  as  prices  enhance. 
Rents  are  now  quite  low.  Especially 
so  for  business  property,  for  which  leases 
are  usually  given  running  from  3  to  5 
years.  A  three  or  four  story  place,  suit- 
able for  a  warehouse  or  factory,  rents  for 
from  $250  to  $325  a  month.  A  large 
store,  suitable  for  retail  dry  goods  or 
business  of  that  character,  in  a  very  good 
location,  would  bring  $250  to  $300  a 


52 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


month.  Offices  rent  for  $12.50  to  $25  a 
month.  Residences  of  eight  to  thirteen 
rooms  $50  to  $65,  of  six  rooms  $25  and 
of  four  $8  to  $12.50. 


lands:  The  L.  and  H.  Blum  Land  Co., 
P.  J.  Willis  &  Bro.,  the  Lasker  Real 
Estate  Association,  Col.  Walter  Gresham 
and  H.  M.  Trueheart  &  Co. 


H.    M.   TRUEHEART   &    COMPANY'S   BLOCK. 


Farm  lands  on  Galveston  Island,  from 
the  nature  of  the  soil  chiefly  desirable  for 
truck,  are  worth,  near  the  city,  $50  to 
$75  an  acre ;  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  out, 
$15  to  $20.  Unimproved  lands  in  South- 
eastern Texas,  in  the  district  contiguous 
to  the  city,  are  worth  $1.50  to  $4.00  an 
acre;  improved  lands,  $5  to  $10,  ac- 
cording to  situation  and  improvements. 
They  are  excellent,  as  a  rule,  for  cotton, 
corn,  vegetables  and  both  the  temperate 
and  semi-tropical  fruits,  and  they  affoi'd, 
in  many  parts,  the  finest  of  pasture.  Such 
lands  can  be  purchased  in  tracts  of  from  5 
to  10,000  acres.  The  Galveston,  Houston 
&  Henderson  R'y  has  a  9,000  and  a  10.000 
acre  tract  on  its  line  within  25  miles  from 
Galveston,  which  can  be  bought  for  $2.50 
to  $3  for  the  9,000  and  $5  to  $10  for  the 
10,000  acre  tract.  The  tide  lands  near  Gal- 
veston are  reclaimable  only  by  dyking.  On 
the  mainland  they  can  be  bought  for  $2.50 
to  $3  an  acre.  The  following  Galveston 
parties  are  very  large  owners  of  Texas 


PROMINENT    AGENTS    OF     GALVESTON. 

H.  M.  TRUEHEART  &  Co.,  land  agents, 
Twenty-second  street,  between  Mechanic 
and  Sttand,  are  leading  dealers  in  Galves- 
ton property  and  in  lands  all  over  Texas, 
established  in  1857,  and  transacting  most 
of  the  local  business  of  that  character  for 
many  years  past.  Incidentally  they  do 
quite  a  rental  business,  and  have  been 
entrusted  with  the  management  of  a  num- 
ber of  estates  and  properties  here  as  well 
as  throughout  Texas  ;  and  they  own  and 
represent  owners,  of  tracts  on  the  Island 
of  Galveston  outside  the  city,  which  have 
been  divided  into  10.  15  and  20  acre  lots, 
for  truck  and  dairy  farms.  One  of  the 
most  notable  sales  recently  made  here  was 
that  effected  by  them,  by  which  1,300 
acres  of  the  mainland,  across  Galveston 
Bay  from  the  city,  was  purchased  by  a 
syndicate  to  found  a  suburban  city.  These" 
parties  afterward  disposed  of  this  tract  at  a 
considerable  advance,  and  the  purchasers 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


53 


from  them  are  maturing  the   project   for 
the  new  town. 

Messrs.  Trueheart  &  Co.  are  also  the 
representatives  of  owners,  resident  and 
non-resident,  having  between  three  and 
four  million  acres  of  Texas  lands,  much 
of  it  in  the  market.  In  this  aggregate  is 
comprised  farming,  ranch  and  grazing 
lands  in  all  parts  of  the  State,  and  lands 
also  in  that  vast  timbered  region  of  the 
State  which  the  government  statistics 
show  is  twice  as  great  as  the  timbered 
area  of  Alabama  and  Mississippi  com- 
bined, though  these  are  in  no  wise  in- 
significantly clothed  with  forest  them- 
selves. Besides  headquarters  here,  at  the 
metropolis  and  chief  seaport  of  Texas, 
they  have  associate  local  agents  in  every 
county,  and  traveling  agents  ;  connections 
giving  them  unsurpassed  facilities  for 
sales  of  lands  to  immigrants  and  investors, 
and  for  examining,  surveying,  protecting, 
rendering  for  and  paying  taxes,  and  in 
fact  all  matters  pertaining  to  lands  all 
over  Texas.  Transactions 
can  thus  be  effected  as 
well  or  better  than  can  be 
done  by  a  local  agent  di- 
rect, and  at  no  greater  ex- 
pense to  the  owner.  The 
long  experience  of  the  firm 
in  the  business,  qualifies  it 
thoroughly  to  give  infor- 
mation with  respect  to  these 
lands  ;  and  is  a  guarantee 
to  those  having  relations 
with  them  of  fair  treat- 
ment. 

Mr.  Trueheart  began 
business  here  in  company 
with  his  father,  J.  O.  True- 
heart.  In  1871,  Mr.  John 
Adriance  became  a  part- 
ner. In  1878,  Mr.  Lucian 
Minor  acquired  an  interest-, 
and  these  gentlemen  are  the  firm  still. 
They  have  been  very  successful  in  the 
business  and  have  considerable  property 


of  their  own,  together  with   investments 
in  other  local  enterprises. 

In  the  compilation  of  this  work,  this 
firm  has  been  accepted  as  competent 
authority  with  respect  to  property  values, 
and  the  figures  quoted  in  this  chapter  of 
the  book  are  largely  based  upon  their 
opinions  and  statements. 

Mr.  Trueheart' s  residence  is  the  subject 
of  an  illustration  in  another  part  of  this 
work.  A  building  owned  by  him  is  also 
shown  herein. 

HARDY  SOLOMON  &  Co.,  real  estate 
agents  of  long  experience  in  the  business 
at  Kansas  City,  Wichita,  Kansas,  and 
other  rapidly  growing  cities  of  the  West, 
have  recently  established  themselves  here, 
and  have  opened  an  office  in  the  Mensing 
building,  corner  of  Twenty-second  and 
Strand.  They  have  been  impressed  with 
the  advantages  Galveston  affords  for  in- 
vestment, in  the  comparatively  low  price 
of  real  estate  here,  the  prospects  presented 
by  the  growth  of  the  city  in  population, 


MOODY   BUILDING,  STRAND   AND   TWENTY-SECOND    STREET. 


the  manufacturing  progress,  and  the  cer- 
tainty of  the  improvement  of  the  harbor, 
and  they  will  bring  to  bear,  besides  their 


54 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


knowledge  of  the  business,  the  facilities 
derived  by  relations  established  with  cor- 
respondents of  means  and  enterprise 
throughout  the  North,  East  and  West. 

Mr.  Hardy  Solomon,  senior  member  of 
this  new  firm,  is  a  Virginian  by  birth,  but 
has  been  engaged  the  greater  part  of  his 
life  in  promoting  the  growth  of  Western 
communities  as  a  real  estate  operator.  His 
son,  Mr.  Albert  C.  Solomon,  and  Mr.  F. 
S.  Burt,  are  associated  with  him.  When 
these  gentlemen  left  Wichita  to  establish 
themselves  here,  the  press  of  that  city 
spoke  of  their  removal  to  another  field 
with  regret,  and  commended  them  to  the 
people  of  Galveston  in  terms  of  unquali- 
fied praise. 

They  propose  to  buy,  sell  and  trade 
property  of  all  kinds  on  commission,  es- 
pecially «ty  property,  to  negotiate  loans 
and  handle  investment  funds ;  and  they 
have  already  given  an  earnest  of  their  in- 
tentions by  advertising  liberally,  not  only 
their  own  business,  but  the  superior  at- 
tractions of  Galveston  also  both  for  busi- 
ness and  as  a  place  of  residence. 

SEABROOK  W.  SYDNOR,  real  estate 
agent,  Twenty-third  street,  Galveston 
National  Bank  building,  has  been  estab- 
lished in  that  line  here  since  1870,  and 
many  important  property  transactions  have 
foeen  effected  by  his  instrumentality,  dur- 
ing that  period.  Negotiations  of  .an  un- 
common character  are  entrusted  him  at 
this  very  moment.  The  most  momentous 
land  and  investment  enterprises  perhaps, 
now  in  progress  in  Texas.  He  is  agent 
here  for  the  Kansas  &  Texas  Investment 
Co.,  and  the  New  Birmingham  Iron  & 
Land  Co.,  who  are  owners  of  the  Tosse 
Belle  Furnace,  giving  employment  to  450 
men,  organizations  especially  formed  to 
present  the  natural  advantages  of  New 
Birmingham,  consisting  of  vast  deposits 
of  the  finest  iron. 

Mr.  Sydnor  is  also  the  representative  at 
Galveston  and  Houston  of  the  National 
Building,  Loan  &  Protective  Union,  of 


Minneapolis,  Minn.,  which  has  an  author- 
ized capital  of  $50,000,000,  and  branches 
in  many  of  the  large  cities  of  the  country. 
Shares  of  this  company  mature  in  five 
years  and  return  20  per  cent  per  annum  to 
the  investors  in  them,  instead  of  3  to  6  per 
cent,  the  ordinary  savings  bank  rate.  He 
represents  also  (with  A.  J.  Owens),  the 
Kansas  Investment  Co.,  of  Topeka,  Kan., 
which  has  $600,000  capital,  and  money  to 
loan  on  city  property  and  improved  farms 
and  ranches. 

Mr.  Sydnor  has  lately  closed  a  number 
of  large  deals  in  Texas  lands,  involving 
several  hundred  thousand  acres.  Opera- 
tions of  that  character  are  a  specialty  with 
him,  but  he  has  city  of  Galveston  property 
also  listed  with  him,  houses  to  rent  here, 
and  is  doing  in  fact  a  general  real  estate  and 
loan  business 

BLAGGE.  BERTRAND  &  Co.,  real  estate 
and  insurance  agents,  of  2212  Mechanic 
street,  is  the  old  insurance  firm  of  Blagge 
&  Bertrand.  with  an  additional  member. 
Mr.  D.  R.  Beatty,  formerly  of  Kansas  City, 
and  an  additional  vocation,  viz.,  real 
estate.  As  real  estate  agents  they  will 
handle  city  and  suburban  property  of  all 
kinds  and  State  lands.  They  recently 
made  a  $40,000  deal  of  acreage  in  Sec.  i, 
Galveston  county,  and  have  others  on  the 
tapis. 

As  an  insurance  firm  thev  will  con- 
tinue to  act  as  district  agents  for  the 
Oakland  Home  Insurance  Co.  of  Cali- 
fornia, and  as  local  agents  for  the  Lion 
Fire  of  England,  which  has  $10.000,000 
capital,  the  Fireman's  Fund  of  San 
Francisco,  $2,314,776  of  assets,  and  the 
Standard  Accident  of  Detroit,  $300,000 
of  assets.  They  have  followed  the  insur- 
ance business  for  years  here,  are  well 
known,  responsible  and  popular. 

Mr.  Blagge,  of  this  firm,  is  a  native  of 
Galveston,  and  -is  said  to  have  been  the 
first  child  born  on  the  Island.  He  is  the 
secretary  of  the  Board  of  Underwriters  of 
Galveston.  hereinafter  mentioned. 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


55 


BUILDING     IMPROVEMENTS. 

THE  progress  of  Galveston  is  plainly 
perceptible  in  the  permanent  and  expens- 
ive building  improvements  of  the  last 
few  years.  In  the  residence  districts 
especially,  this  advancement  is  manifest, 
but  it  is  scarcely  less  strikingly  exhibited 
in  the  new  public  edifices,  and  the  struct- 
ures intended  for  business  or  factory 
purposes  that  have  been  raised,  or  are  in 
process  of  construction. 

The  great  fire  of  1885,  of  which,  as  has 
been  said  in  the  chapter  of  this  work 
describing  the  city,  scarcely  a  trace  re- 
mains, was  not  altogether  an  unmixed 
evil.  The  loss  by  it,  $1,389,000,  was 
covered  by  insurance  to  the  amount  of 
$1,138,000,  and  restoration  of  the  burnt 
district  awakened  a  spirit  of  emulation 
amongst  the  home-builders  of  the  city, 
which  has  beautified  all  the  residence 
quarter.  There  has  been  a  visible  im- 
provement in  the  architecture  of  the  city 
since,  and  lately  very  many  costly 
mansions  have  been  erected.  Among 
those  now  building,  the  Gresham,  Sealy, 
Lasker,  Cannon,  Seeligson  and  Lufkin 
mansions,  are  most  notable.  On  the  two 
first  $100,000  each  is  to  be  expended 
and  about  $20,000  each  on  the  others. 

The  list  of  public  buildings  completed 
within  a  twelvemonth  or  under  way,* 
includes  the  new  City  Hall,  which  cost 
$50,000,  the  John  Sealy  Hospital,  $50,- 
ooo,  or  jointly  with  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  the  State  University  alongside, 
$125,000;  the  new  Custom  House,  $250,- 
ooo;  the  Rosenberg  school,  $70,000;  the 
Fourth  district  school,  $40,000;  the 
Sacred  Heart  church.  $75,000;  the  cotton 
and  woolen  mills,  $225,000  ;  the  bagging 
and  twine  factory,  $300,000.  In  addition 
to  these  there  is  projected,  new  shops  for 
the  Gulf,  Colorado  &  Santa  Fe  railroad, 
for  which  the  citizens  have  contributed  a 
bonus  of  $50,000.  a  new  rope  and  twine 
factory  and  other  industrial  structures, 


several  for  wholesale  business,  and  some 
important  reconstruction  and  remodelling 
jobs.  A  modernized  taste  is  apparent  in 
the  architecture  of  all  these  also. 

It  may  be  safely  averred  that  $2,500,- 
ooo  has  been  expended  for  new  buildings, 
public  and  private,  in  the  last  year,  and 
that  as  large  a  sum  total  is  involved  in  the 
work  now  in  progress.  The  disburse- 
ments for  building  work  of  the  past  year 
or  two,  with  which  the  $450,000  spent  for 
water  works  may  be  classed,  has  made 
the  building  trades  and  the  pursuits  and 
industries  allied  to  them  flourish  cor- 
respondingly, and  with  an  enlivened 
real  estate  market  to  stimulate  it  further 
the  future  has  as  encouraging  a  face. 

The  work  oE  ARCHITECT  N.  J.  CLAY- 
TON of  Tremont  and  Strand,  the  first  to 
begin  practice  of  this  profession  in  the 
city,  is  conspicuous  among  the  examples 
of  superior  architecture  that  grace  the 
streets  of  Galveston  He  planned  and 
executed  construction  of  the  Tremont  and 
Beach  hotels,  the  Masonic  Temple,  the 
building  of  the  Galveston  News,  which 
has  a  decidedly  ornate  facade,  the  National 
Bank  of  Texas  or  Moody  building,  the 
Union  club,  Santa  Fe  Railroad  offices  and 
residence  of  George  Sealy. 

He  was,  until  lately,  supervising  archi- 
tect of  the  Federal  building,  which,  de- 
signed for  a  Custom  House  and  Post 
Office,  is  nearing  completion  on  Bath 
avenue,  and  he  is  at  present  engaged 
on  the  $22,000  residence  of  Morris 
Lasker,  the  new  Sacred  Heart  Church 
of  Romanesque  type,  and  the  medi- 
cal department  of  the  State  Uni- 
versity, a  structure  complemental  to  the 
John  Sealy  hospital.  The  expenditure 
estimated  for  these  two  last  named  build- 
ings is  $75,000  each,  and  the  commissions 
for  work  entrusted  Mr.  Clayton  now 
aggregate  over  $250,000. 

Most  of  the  notable  buildings  of  the 
city  are  illustrated  in  this  work,  by  engrav- 
ings ma^e  from  photographs  taken  for  the 


56 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


purpose.  Of  these  the  Moody  building, 
Sealy  residence,  Sealy  hospital  and  Cus- 
tom House  exhibit  Mr.  Clayton's  experi- 
ence, skill  and  variety.  . 

Galveston  is  favorably  situated  for 
building  operations.  It  is  in  a  climate 
that  permits  work  to  proceed  the  year 
round  ;  a  climate  and  a  region  inviting  to 
the  laborer,  who  finds  it  a  place  with  a 
moderate  scale  of  living  expenses,  and  a 
liberal  rate  of  wages  prevailing.  It  is  less 
than  a  hundred  miles  from  the  greatest 
lumber  district  of  the  Union,  that  known 
in  Louisiana  as  the  Calcasieu,  and  in 
Texas  as  the  Sabine  region.  Brick  of 
superior  quality  is  made  near  it,  at  Cedar 
Bayou,  and  other  places  on  the  main- 
land. The  shipping  frequenting  the  port 
brings  cargoes  of  cement  and  lime,  and 
other  materials  for  house  construction,  in 
quantities  that  make  a  center  of  distribu- 
tion here,  for  these  commodities.  Build- 
ing sites  are  low  priced  and  the  lay  of  the 
land  propitious.  There  are,  as  we  have 
seen  already,  in  the  course  of  this  account 
of  the  city,  several  solid  local  loan  and 
homestead  associations  established,  ready 
to  provide  the  property  owner  of  energy 
and  enterprise,  or  the  home-builder,  with 
funds. 

THE    GALVESTON    UNDERWRITERS. 

» 

AN  insurance  business  particularly  large 
for  the  size  of  the  place,  is  done  at  Gal- 
veston. Extraordinary  receipts  of  cotton, 
the  most  valuable  of  all  the  agricultural 
staples,  make  an  aggregate  of  premiums 
business  which  is  very  extensive  indeed. 
There  are  twelve  fire  insurance  agencies  at 
Galveston.  The  most  important  of  these 
are  described  hereinafter,  and  with  them, 
those  also  of  the  life  companies  doing 
business  in  the  city. 

The  premium-receipts  of  the  twelve 
fire  agencies,  not  including  cotton  policies, 
are  between  $250,000  and  $300,000  a 
year.  The  rates  have  been  reduced  25 
per  cent  since  the  city  has  provided  a 


proper  water  supply,  and  this  reduction, 
of  course,  reduces,  proportionately,  the 
aggregate  of  premiums.  Two  business 
firms  here  carry  $1,250,000  insurance  on 
their  stocks  between  them,  the  houses  of 
Blum  and  Willis.  Cotton  is  insured 
mostly,  75  per  cent  of  all  received  here  at 
least,  with  the  marine  companies,  who 
accept  it  in  transit  from  the  interior  by  rail 
or  barge,  in  compress  or  storage  yard,  on 
the  dock  and  on  shipboard,  and  through 
every  stage  of  its  transportation  until  it 
reaches  its  final  foreign  destination.  The 
business  appears  from  the  records  kept, 
exceedingly  safe,  if  not  entirely  profita- 
ble. During  thirty  years,  says  Chief 
Oldenburg  of  the  fire  department,  the 
losses  paid  on  cotton  premium  receipts  of 
over  $3,000,000,  have  been  less  than 
$40,000. 

This  fact  speaks  well,  too,  for  the 
efficiency  of  the  city's  fire  service,  the 
status  of  which,  at  present,  is  disclosed  in 
the  account  given  of  it  on  page  19  of  this 
work.  The  underwriters  have  no  voice 
in  its  management  except  as  citizens. 
Neither  do  they  maintain  a  fire  patrol. 
But  all  the  places  for  storage  of  cotton 
are  protected  by  special  appliances  and 
private  watchmen.  The  fire  department 
has  the  assistance  of  the  lighter  tugs, 
which  are  equipped  with  pumps  for  the 
purpose,  in  case  of  fire  in  the  shipping. 
The  new  city  water  supply  is  considered 
an  ample  defense  against  a  conflagration, 
such  as  visited  the  city  in  1885,  entailing 
a  loss  to  the  insurance  companies  of 
$1,183,000.  The  city  then,  however,  was 
insufficiently  supplied  with  water,  and 
the  flames,  impelled  by  a  gale  from  the 
north,  licked  up  the  residences  on  forty- 
three  blocks  of  ground. 

Since  that  event,  known  locally  as  "  the 
big  fire,"  there  have  been  no  extraordi- 
nary losses,  although  1886,  with  $114,000 
of  total,  was  a  serious  period  for  the  com- 
panies. The  loss  to  the  insurance  com- 
panies in  1887,  was  $34,000,  and  in  1888, 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


57 


upon  property  endangered  which  was 
valued  at  $400,000,  and  insured  for 
$345,928,  it  was  but  $5,611. 

Aside  from  cotton,  no  merchandise  of 
a  very  inflammable  character  enters  into 
the  commerce  of  the  port.  There  are  no 
circumstances  now  to  make  the  extin- 
guishment of  fires  especially  difficult. 
Storm  winds  blow  over  the  Island  at 
times,  but  not  often.  Galveston  is  largely 
a  wooden  city,  but  its  streets  are  wide, 
its  grades  easy,  and  its  business  structures 
are,  almost  entirely,  brick.  The  fire 
agents  are  organized  as  a  Board  of 
Underwriters  for  Galveston.  There  is 
no  local  insurance  company. 

BEERS,  KENNISON  &  Co.,  fire  and 
marine  insurance  agents,  on  Strand  be- 
tween Twentieth  and  Twenty-first  streets, 
are  the  leading  underwriters  of  the  city. 
They  represent,  as  general  agents,  the  Sun 
Fire  of  London,  the  City  of  London,  the 
Norwich  Union,  the  London  &  Lancashire 
of  Liverpool,  the  Southern  of  New  Or- 
leans, and  the  New  Orleans  Insurance 
Association  of  New  Orleans,  and  as  local 
agents  the  Lancashire  Insurance  Co.  of 
Manchester,  the  Queen  of  Liverpool,  the 
Sun  of  San  Francisco,  the  St.  Paul  Fire  & 
Marine  of  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  and  the  British 
and  Foreign  Marine  Insurance  Co.  These 
companies  have  assets  that  aggregate  for 
the  whole,  between  forty  and  fifty  million 
dollars. 

This  agency  of  Beers,  Kennison  &  Co. 
is  an  old,  as  well  as  solidly  established  one. 
Mr.  Beers  has  been  in  the  business  here 
for  twenty  years,  Mr.  Kennison  since  1870. 
They  divide  the  details  of  management,  so 
that  Mr.  Kennison  has  the  general  agency 
work  to  supervise,  and  Mr.  Beers  the  gen- 
eral management  of  local  and  marine 
business. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find,  in  any  city, 
a  general  agency  better  equipped  for  its 
business  than  this  ;  whether  the  character 
of  the  companies  represented,  the  experi- 
ence of  the  firm,  or  its  reputation  in  the 


community  be  taken  into  consideration, 
or  any  two  of  these  characteristics,  or  all 
combined — in  any  event  it  is  one  that  will 
easily  bear  comparison  with  any  in  Texas. 

C.  E.  ANGELL  &  Co.  (C.  E.  Angell, 
the  "  Co."  being  nominal  merely),  Twen- 
ty-first and  Mechanic,  is  the  local  agent  of 
the  Liverpool  &  London  &  Globe  In- 
surance Co.,  which  does  a  larger  business 
and  takes  heavier  risks,  when  compensated 
for  it,  than  any  company  doing  business  in 
the  South.  He  is  also  the  State  agent  and 
manager  for  the  Greenwich  Insurance  Co. 
of  New  York,  which  has  $1,401,000  of 
assets  ;  for  the  Hibernia  of  New  Orleans  ; 
the  Western  Home  of  Sioux  City,  Iowa ; 
the  National  Fire  Insurance  Co.  of  New 
York  ;  the  Providence  Washington  Insur- 
ance Co.  of  Providence,  R.  I.  ;  the  Mann- 
heim of  Germany,  and  the  Sea  Insurance 
Co,  of  England,  the  last  two  marine  com- 
panies, having  respectively  $3,064,268  of 
assets  and  $2,334,716. 

Mr.  Angell  is  a  native  of  the  city,  and 
one  of  the  most  active  and  energetic  of  the 
younger  generation  of  business  men.  He 
bought  the  agency  of  M.  Quin,  Esq.  (for 
the  London  &  Liverpool  &  Globe  only), 
from  his  estate  in  1883,  and  has  added  the 
other  companies  since.  He  does  a  very 
excellent  business,  and  stands  high  as  an 
underwriter  throughout  the  State. 

J.  M.  O.  MENARD,  doing  business  as 
J.  M.  O.  Menard  &  Co.,  underwriters, 
Strand,  between  Twenty-second  and 
Twenty-third  streets,  has  been  in  the 
insurance  business  here  for  20  years,  and 
has  been  in  it  on  his  own  account  since 
1871.  He  is  one  of  the  oldest,  best 
known  and  most  successful  insurance  men 
here.  He  is  the  general  agent  for  Texas 
of  the  Trans-Atlantic  Fire  and  New 
York  Bowery  Companies,  is  district 
agent  in  Southwestern  Texas  for  the  East 
Texas  of  Tyler,  Tex.,  and  Alamo  of  San 
Antonio,  and  is  local  agent  for  the  German- 
American  of  New  York,  the  Phenix  of 
Brooklyn,  the  Anglo  Nevada  of  San 


58 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


Francisco  and  the  Alamo  Fire  of  San 
Antonio.  These  companies  have  assets, 
aggregating  for  them  all,  something  like 
$15,000,000. 

Mr.  Menard  is  a  native  of  the  city,  and 
a  relative  of  Michael  B.  Menard,  the 
founder  of  Galveston  ;  is  in  fact  the  only 
male  representative  of  the  family  now 
living  here.  He  has  been  an  Alderman 
of  the  city.  City  Assessor  and  City  Treas- 
urer, is  a  property  owner,  and  a  gentleman 
much  esteemed  for  social  as  well  as  busi- 
ness qualities. 

JAMES  SORLEY,  STUBBS  &  Co.,  gen- 
eral insurance  agents,  Mechanic  street, 
between  Twenty-first  and  Twenty-second, 
over  Heidenheimer  &  Co.'s,  are  the 
representatives  of  companies  here  whose 
aggregated  assets  are  $34,000.000.  One  of 
them,  the  Scottish  Union  and  National, 
has  $17,500.000,  and  another,  the  Home 
of  N.  Y.,  $9,000,000.  Besides  these 
they  act  for  the  Trans-Atlantic  of  Ham- 
burg, the  Connecticut  of  Hartford,  the 
Sun  Mutual  of  New  Orleans,  the  State 
Investment  of  San  Francisco,  the  Bur- 
lington of  Iowa,  Greenwich  of  N.  Y. 
and  the  Fidelity  &  Casualty  Co.,  security, 
accident  and  steam  boiler  insurance,  of 
New  York. 

Mr.  Sorley  of  the  firm,  is  also  the 
agent  of  the  Lloyd's  of  London,  the  Liver- 
pool Underwriters'  Association  and  the 
American  &  Continental  Underwriters. 

Mr.  Sorley  has  been  a  resident  here 
since  1851.  He  has  been  Collector  of 
the  Port  and  an  Alderman  of  the  city 
and  also  a  cotton  and  shipping  merchant. 
He  has  been  in  the  insurance  business 
since  1866.  He  is  a  gentleman  of  the 
highest  reputation  in  the  community,  and 
he  has  considerable  distinction  as  a  local 
statistician.  Mr.  Stubbs,  the  junior  part- 
ner in  the  agency,  has  been  in  the  busi- 
ness twelve  years,  and  is  one  of  the  best 
qualified  of  the  local  underwriters.  He 
is  a  native  of  the  city,  and  has  been  a 
partner  with  Mr.  Sorley  for  about  a  year. 


C.  M.  GUINARD  &  Co.,  insurance 
agents,  Reymershoffer  building,  2202 
Mechanic  street  (C.  M.  Gurnard,  ihe  Co. 
being  nominal),  is  the  representative  here 
of  the  following  companies :  The  Con- 
tinental of  New  York,  which  has  $5,- 
177?°°°  °f  assets  ;  the  Fire  Association  of 
Philadelphia,  $4,250,000;  the  Norwich 
Union,  $4,000,000;  the  Western  of 
Toronto,  $1,975,000;  the  British  America 
of  Canada,  $1,800,000;  the  Marine  of  St. 
Louis  and  Commercial  Insurance  Co.  of 
California.  He  is  special  Texas  agent 
for  the  Continental  and  also  agent  for  the 
Travelers  Life  &  Accident  Co.  of  Hart- 
ford, having  $8,000,000  assets,  and  the 
American  Surety  Co.,  $1,950,000. 

The  character  of  the  fire  companies  for 
whom  he  acts  is  best  illustrated  by  the  fact 
that  they  paid  $145.000  in  cash,  without 
discount,  for  the  losses  they  sustained  by 
the  great  fire  here  on  Nov.  i.^th,  1885. 
Mr.  Guinard  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  the 
local  underwriters,  and  he  has  been  one 
of  the  most  successful  of  them.  He  has 
large  lines  of  insurance  entrusted  him  In 
the  business  men  of  the  city.  He  was 
secretary  of  the  Merchants'  Insurance  Co. 
of  Galveston  while  it  was  in  business. 
He  is  a  director  of  the  Peoples'  Loan  £ 
Homestead  Association  and  president  of 
the  Neptune  Ice  Company,  and  is  inter- 
ested also  in  the  Galveston  Cotton  £ 
Woolen  Mills.  He  has  been  an  officer  of 
the  local  board  of  Fire  Underwriters  for 
the  last  eight  years,  and  has  been  in  the 
insurance  business  here  for  twenty-four 
years. 

THE  EQUITABLE  LIFE  ASSURANCE  SO- 
CIETY of  the  United  States,  which  is  rep- 
resented here  by  Ladd  M.  Waters  £  Bro., 
its  Texas  and  Arkansas  agents,  exceeds 
every  other  life  company  of  the  world  in 
the  following  particulars  :  For  four  \  i-ars 
it  has  had  the  largest  outstanding  assur- 
ance;  for  trn  vi'ais  the  largest  4  per  cent 
surplus,  and  for  ten  years  also,  has  exhib- 
ited the  largest  annual  new  business. 


60 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


Its  ratio  of  assets  to  liabilities  is  128  per 
cent.  Its  record,  during  the  thirty 
years  it  has  been  established,  discloses  a 
business  in  excess  of  that  of  nearly  thirty 
companies  established  meanwhile  in  the 
United  States  combined  ;  in  excess  of  the 
thirty  leading  British  companies  in  recent 
years,  and  neai'ly  twice  as  much  as  the 
current  business  of  the  eighteen  leading 
French  companies ;  and  the  like  compari- 
son made  with  respect  to  the  most  promi- 
nent German  companies,  is  also  a  revela- 
tion of  the  superiority  of  the  Equitable. 

The  Equitable  has  been  foremost  also 
in  bringing  about  reforms  in  the  methods 
of  life  insurance.  It  was  the  first  to  intro- 
duce Tontine  assurance,  the  most  popular 
plan  of  the  day  in  this  country.  It  origi- 
nated indisputable  insurance  in  the  United 
States  and  voluntarily  adopted  the  incon- 
testable policy  clause,  evincing  in  the 
celebrated  Dwight  case,  contested  by 
nineteen  other  companies,  but  promptly 
settled  by  it,  its  adherence  to  a  principle 
of  its  own  establishment.  Credit  is  due 
also  to  the  Equitable  for  the  free  Tontine 
policy  which  gives  absolute  liberty  to  its 
policy  holder  to  pursue  any  course  in  life 
best  pleases  him  in  one  year,  and  an  un- 
conditional claim  in  two  years. 

The  Equitable's  newest  form  of  policy 
is  a  simple  promise  to  pay,  like  a  bank  draft, 
with  no  conditions  whatever  on  the  back 
of  it.  It  is  unrestricted  as  to  travel  and 
occupation  after  one  year,  incontestable 
after  two  years,  non-forfeitable  after  three 
years,  is  payable  immediately  it  matures, 
draws  tontine  profits,  and  gives  the  pos- 
sessor of  it  a  choice  of  six  methods  of  set- 
tlement at  the  end  of  the  tontine  period. 

The  Equitable  is  distinguished  also 
among  the  life  companies  by  the  substan- 
tial character  of  its  assets,  and  by  the 
enterprise  it  has  exhibited  in  giving  them 
a  permanent  value.  Its  building  in  New 
York  city  is  considered  the  finest  exam- 
ple of  a  structure  devoted  to  business 
purposes  in  the  great  metropolis  ;  and  it 


has  raised  in  Vienna,  Berlin  and  Madrid, 
massive  architectural  piles  that  are  notable 
even  in  those  great  Old  World  capitals. 

The  agents  here  readily  obtain  business 
for  a  company  of  such  resources.  Several 
policies  for  $50,000  and  upwards  have 
been  written  by  them  here  for  leading 
citizens.  Mr.  Ladd  M.  Waters  has  been 
in  the  life  insurance  business  for  several 
years  here.  He  is  a  native  of  the  city  and 
well  known  among  the  business  commu- 
nities, not  of  Galveston  and  its  vicinity 
alone,  but  of  all  the  territory  allotted  his 
firm  by  the  company.  His  brother  and 
partner,  Mr.  W.  M.  Waters,  is  stationed 
at  Dallas,  and  is  in  charge  of  their  agency 
affairs  there  The  Galveston  office  of 
this  firm  is  on  Strand  near  Twenty-second 
street. 

THE  MUTUAL  RESERVE  FUND  LIFE 
ASSOCIATION  of  New  York  is  doing  a 
beneficent  work  in  Texas.  Having  es- 
tablished agencies  throughout  the  State, 
with  representative  men  in  charge,  it 
deserves  mention  here. 

This  association  has  achieved  the 
grandest  success  ever  known  in  life  in- 
surance business.  Although  only  organ- 
ized in  1 88 1,  it  had,  at  the  close  of  the 
year  1889,  the  amount  of  over  $181,000,- 
ooo  of  Insurance  in  force,  had  paid 
death  claims  amounting  to  over  $7,600,- 
ooo  (of  which  over  $1,800,000  was  paid 
in  1889)  and  had  accumulated  a  Reserve 
Fund  of  over  $2,300,000  for  the  protec- 
tion of  all  its  policies. 

In  these  first  nine  years  of  its  existence 
the  Association  has  done  the  largest 
business  ever  done  by  any  Life  Insurance 
Company  in  the  same  time ;  and  compar- 
ing its  business  with  the  three  largest 
companies  in  the  world,  it  is  three  times 
as  much  as  the  Equitable,  more  than 
seventeen  times  as  much  as  the  Mutual  and 
more  than  twenty  times  as  much  as  the 
New  York  Life  Insurance  Co. 

It  has,  in  fact,  effected  a  revolution  in 
Life  Insurance  and  has  proved  that  it  can 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTOK 


61 


be  furnished,  when  relieved  from  the  heavy 
investment  features  of  the  old  system,  at 
a  cost  which  is  within  the  reach  of  all,  thus 
allowing  a  workingman  to  provide  for  his 
family  where  formerly  he  could  not  do  so 
on  account  of  the  high  cost. 

The  Natural  Premium  system,  under 
which  the  Mutual  Reserve  is  operated, 
furnishes  Life  Insurance  at  the  lowest 
possible  cost,  with  perfect  security,  and  is 
the  result  of  practical  experience,  which 
has  been  utilized  in  perfecting  the  system. 
This  system  of  Life  Insurance  is  espec- 
ially a  benefit  to  the  citizens  of  Texas  as 
it  calls  on  them  to  pay  only  the  net  cost, 
and  leaves  their  capital  in  their  own 
hands  for  use  in  their  own  business,  thus 
benefiting  the  entire  community,  directly 
and  indirectly,  instead  of  drawing  large 
amounts  from  the  State  annually,  to  be 
invested  in  other  States,  as  is  the  case 
under  the  old  system. 

The  Mutual  Reserve  is  now  the  peer  of 
any  company  in  the  world  and  as  its 
management  has  been  investigated  over 
a  score  of  times,  by  the  legal  authorities 
of  as  many  States,  without  once  meeting 
with  aught  but  commendation,  it  is  one  of 
the  recognized  institutions  of  the  country, 
and  its  motto,  "not  for  a  day,  but  for  all 
time,"  is  a  most  appropriate  one. 

The  Mutual  Reserve  is  the  only  Com- 
pany which  has  protected  its  accumula- 
tions by  placing  them  in  trust  and 
removing  them  from  the  absolute  control 
of  its  officers.  This  it  has  done  by  placing 
its  Reserve  Fund  under  a  Deed  of  Trust, 
which  is  the  best  known  protection,  and 
furnishes  the  best  security  a  policy- 
holder  can  have,  with  the  great  Central 
Trust  Co.  of  New  York,  which  has  assets 
of  over  $25,000,000. 

The  cost  of  Insurance  in  the  Mutual 
Reserve,  for  each  $1,000  annually,  is  at 
the  age  of  25,  $13.76;  age  30,  $14.24;  age 
40,  $16.17;  aSe  5°»  $2I-37?  and  at  the  age 
of  60,  $43.70,  or  about  one-half  the  rates 
of  the  old  system,  and  this  cost  is  divided 


into  bi-monthly  payments,  ranging  from 
$1.80  at  age  25  to  $6.78  at  age  60  every 
two  months,  thus  making  the  payment  so 
small  that  every  one  may  participate  in  its 
benefits. 

As  Life  Insurance  is  acknowledged  to 
be  the  best  protection  a  man  can  give  his 
family,  and  as  the  Mutual  Reserve  fur- 
nishes it  at  the  lowest  possible  cost,  with 
security,  those  desiring  to  protect  their 
families  should  consult  some  representa- 
tive of  the  Association  and  learn  the  full 
particulars  of  its  system ;  and  this  step 
can  hardly  be  taken  too  soon. 

The  operations  of  this  Association 
have  been  rapidly  extended,  and  it  is  now 
doing  business  throughout  the  United 
States,  Canada,  Great  Britain,  France  and 
Continental  Europe. 

The  Association  is  doing  a  large  busi- 
ness in  Texas,  and  Mr.  E.  B.  Harper,  its 
energetic  president,  is  to  be  congratulated 
on  having  secured  the  co-operation  of 
an  efficient  corps  of  representatives  in  the 
State..  Mr.  A.  C.  Bloss,  Manager  of  the 
Central  Department,  which  includes 
Texas,  has  been  identified  with  the  Asso- 
ciation since  its  first  year,  and  has  placed 
many  millions  "of  business  on  its  books  ; 
he  is  a  most  indefatigable  worker,  and 
keeps  his  department  in  the  front  rank  of 
State  agencies.  Mr.  R,  T.  Byrne  of 
Galveston  is  the  General  Agent  of  the 
Association  for  Galveston,  Houston  and 
Southeastern  Texas,  and  has  already  made 
a  reputation  for  the  Association  in  his 
section,  wherein  he  is  doing  a  very  large 
business 

Messrs  P.  S.  &  J.  P.  Pfouts  (Pfouts  & 
Pfouts)  of  Dallas,  General  Agents  for 
Northeastern  Texas,  are  live  business  men 
and  are  meeting  with  deserved  success 
and  securing  their  full  share  of  business. 
Messrs.  Warner  &  Raymond,  of  Austin, 
are  General  Agents  for  Austin  and  vicin- 
ity, and  their  well-known  reputation  as 
business  men  guaranteed  their  success 
from  the  start.  Mr.  L.  B.  Morrison,  of 


62 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


Gatesville,  General  Agent  for  sevei'al 
counties  in  his  vicinity,  is  crowding  other 
companies,  and  lets  no  one  get  ahead  of 
him.  Mr.  F.  B.  Bailey  of  Palestine,  has 
several  counties  under  his  charge  as  Gen- 
eral Agent,  has  incited  great  interest 
in  Life  Insurance,  and  gets  plenty  of 
business  in  his  territory.  Mr.  W.  F. 
Beard  of  Cleburne,  is  also  an  active 
worker  and  has  secured  also  a  large 
business.  Mr.  J.  J.  McDaniel  of  Mine- 
ola,  another  General  Agent,  has  already 
made  a  record  and  will  doubtless  keep 


it  up.  General  John  M.  Claiborn,  now 
located  at  Rusk,  is  one  of  the  latest 
appointees,  and  those  who  know  him 
say,  that  he  will  do  his  full  share  in 
introducing  the  Association  in  his  vi- 
cinity. 

These  General  Agents  have  many  able 
assistants,  and  as  Texans  always  show 
their  appreciation  of  a  good  thing  when 
they  see  it,  and  as  the  Mutual  Reserve  is 
undoubtedly  ica  very  good  thing  indeed," 
its.  great  success  is  readily  accounted 
for. 


MARITIME   BUSINESS   AND   FOREIGN   TRADE. 


1880,  Galveston  has 
risen  to  the  rank  of 
seventh  seaport  of  the 
country,  and  has  sustained 
her  title  to  maritime  pres- 
tige over  all  the  cities  of 
the  Union  except  New 
York,  San  Francisco,  Boston,  New  Or- 
leans, Baltimore  and  Philadelphia,  by 
the  number  of  her  home  fleet  and  coast- 
wise and  transient  arrivals,  and  by  her 
customs  and  wharf  collections. 

The  vessels  owned  and  documented 
in  the  Galveston  customs  district  number 
nearly  200.  Their  gross  tonnage  is  over 
8,000.  The  entries  of  coastwise  vessels  are 
now  between  300  and  400  a  year ;  the  ton- 
nage of  them,  about  350,000.  Clearances 
are  approximately  the  same.  The  entries, 
foreign,  are  375  steamships  and  130  sail, 
and  the  tonnage  about  the  same  as  that  of 
the  coasting  aggregate.  Clearances  for- 
eign, likewise  approach  the  coasting  fig- 
ures. Sea  freights  aggregate,  therefore, 
700,000  tons  in,  and  about  as  much  out  of 
the  port  of  Galveston.  This  statement 
does  not  include  the  small  craft  carrying 
produce,  lumber,  etc.,  and  plying  in  and 
out  of  the  port,  and  into  adjacent  coast 
waters. 

As  cotton  is  the  staple  chiefly  freighted, 
the  customs  statistics  vary  from  year 
to  year,  according  as  the  demand  for  it 
is  greater  at  home  or  abroad.  The  state- 


ment of  the  exports  and  imports  of  the 
city  that  follows,  furnished  by  N.  W. 
CUNEY,  collector  of  the  port,  is  a  measure, 
however,  of  its  foreign  trade. 

The  total  value  of  the  imports  of  Gal- 
veston in  1886  was  $1,059,825.  In  1887, 
it  was  $1,694,676.  In  1888,  it  was  $i,- 
740,606.  To  July  r,  1889,  $970,000. 
The  total  exports  of  1886  were  valued  at 
$16,955,801  ;  of  1887,  $18,819,492,  and  of 
1888,  $14,462,947.  The  noticeable  dif- 
ference in  these  two  years  was  due,  not  to 
any  decreased  business  of  the  port,  but 
simply  to  the  fact  that  the  railroads  built 
into  Mexico,  diverted  a  considerable  traffic 
that  formerly  went  south  from  Galveston 
by  sea.  The  statement  of  exports  too, 
does  not  include  the  whole  movement  of 
cotton  to  European  ports  ;  for  within  the 
last  few  years  the  shipments  from  Gal- 
veston abroad  by  way  of  New  York  have 
largely  increased. 

A  comparison  of  the  imports  of  1888 
with  those  of  the  first  half  of  '89,  the 
latest  figures  obtainable,  shows  an  in- 
creasing business  of  the  port  in  nearly 
every  leading  item.  The  total  importa- 
tions of  cement  in  '88,  were  valued  at 
$19,548.  In  the  first  half  of  last  year 
they  were  $12,531.  The  imports  of  coal 
and  coke  in  '88  were  $56,809,  as  com- 
pared with  $31,728  in  the  first  half  of  '89, 
and  similar  comparisons  in  the  case  of 
coffee  show  figures  of  $401,768  and 


64 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


$300,943  respectively;  cotton  ties,  $95,- 
382  and  $64.934;  dry  goods,  $244,713 
and  $114,720;  hardware,  $472,294  and 
$264,068;  salt,  $37,457  and  $17,000; 
wines  and  liquors,  $56,760  and  $33,694; 
sundries,  $355,465  and  $128,501.  This 
same  relative  rate  of  increase  would  in- 
dicate imports  of  $1,945,230  in  1889,  the 
principal  items  being,  coffee,  $601,886; 
dry  goods,  $238,440  ;  hardware,  $528,126. 

The  exports  are  little  else  than  cotton 
and  cotton  oil  cake.  Three  to  four 
hundred  thousand  bales  of  cotton  are  ex- 
ported foreign  direct ;  the  remainder  via 
New  York,  and  about  30,000  tons  of  oil 
cake  is  also  loaded  at  the  Galveston 
wharves.  The  item  of  sundry  exports 
has  varied  in  three  years  from  $50,000  in 
value  to  $150,000. 

The  customs  figures  show  a  growing 
trade  in  the  dye  wood  known  as  fustic,  a 
product  of  the  Central  American  States  ; 
also  in  alligator  skins  from  the  tropics. 
But  the  greatest  increase  of  imports  is  in 
Mexican  coffees.  A  year  or  two  ago,  an 
effort  was  made  by  houses  interested  in 
the  trade,  to  increase  the  importation  of 
English  tin-plate  for  St.  Louis,  Kansas 
City  and  other  Western  markets,  but 
damage  resulting  from  lighterage  forced 
the  parties  concerned  to  abandon  the 
undertaking.  All  this  new  business,  like 
the  proposed  shipment  of  Texas  beef  in 
special  refrigerator  steamers,  and  the  de- 
velopment of  a  foreign  grain  trade,  which 
was  inaugurated  by  F.  Cannon  and 
others,  assisted  by  the  Santa  Fe  road, 
with  the  shipment  of  32,000  bushels  of 
Kansas  corn  in  May  last,  depends  largely 
upon  the  government's  improvement  of 
the  bar  to  the  harbor,  although  local 
enterprise  is  actively  enlisted  to  prosecute 
these  projects  with  only  the  present  facil- 
ities of  the  port. 

BAY,    CHANNEL    AND    BAR. 

ITS  natural  conformation  divides  the 
Bay  of  Galveston  into  two  parts,  the 


Upper  Bay,  enclosed  entirely  within  the 
mainland,  and  serviceable  chiefly  as  a 
means  of  internal  transportation,  and  the 
Lower  or  West  Bay — Galveston  Bay 
proper — between  the  island  and  the  main- 
land opposite  it,  which  affords  a  safe  and 
commodious  harbor  for  the  shipping  of 
the  port.  The  Upper  Bay  extends  a 
distance  of  thirty  miles  from  the  entrance, 
and  is  about  thirty-five  miles  across  in  its 
widest  parts.  It  is  ten  or  eleven  feet 
deep  over  about  a  fourth  of  it,  and  has  a 
ship  channel  excavated  for  eighteen  miles 
through  it  to  Buffalo  bayou,  on  the  banks 
of  which  Houston  is  situated,  about  fifty 
miles  by  rail  from  Galveston.  The 
Trinity,  one  of  the  principal  rivers  of 
Eastern  Texas,  debouches  into  this  Upper 
Bay  at  one  of  its  furthest  Northern  ex- 
tremities. 

The  Lower  Bay  is  one  and  a  half  to 
two  miles  wide.  It  covers  an  area  of  135 
miles.  No  point  in  it  is  more  than  twelve 
miles  from  the  main  entrance,  for  there 
are  two,  one  to  the  West  at  San  Luis 
pass,  which  has  not  been  in  use,  even  by 
small  craft,  for  years,  and  the  other,  an 
opening  from  the  Gulf  into  both  Lower 
and  Upper  Bays,  between  the  eastern  end 
of  the  island  and  Bolivar  Peninsula. 
Just  inside  this  entrance  there  are  two 
channels,  divided  by  a  shoal.  One  leads 
to  the  Upper  Bay,  and  the  other  sweeps 
past  the  city  into  the  Lower  Bay  and 
forms  the  harbor  of  Galveston.  It  is 
about  200  hundred  yards  wide,  and  has 
an  average  depth  in  front  of  the  city  of 
thirty  feet.  The  gorge  of  this  entrance 
to  the  harbor  is  about  8,200  feet  wide. 
The  harbor  has  460  acres  of  30  foot 
anchorage  inside  this  gorge,  and  1,300 
acres  of  24  foot  depth,  500  acres  of 
which,  however,  lie  outside  the  gorge. 

Two  bars,  an  inner  and  an  outer  bar, 
obstruct  this  entrance  to  the  harbor.  The 
inner  bar  has  twenty-one  feet  of  water 
upon  it  at  mean  low  tide,  the  outer 
thirteen  and  a  quarter.  This  is  an  in- 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


65 


crease  of  twelve  feet  in  the  former  since 
1867,  three  feet  of  which  was  added  by 
the  forces  of  Nature  and  nine  by  the  ex- 
penditure of  municipal  moneys,  and  this 
depth  can  be  indefinitely  increased  should 
removal  of  the  outer  bar  require  it.  That 
had  twelve  and  a  quarter  feet  when  the 
government  improvements,  now  in  prog- 
ress, were  commenced,  so  that  already  a 


The  outer  bar  lies  four  miles  seaward 
beyond  the  gorge.  The  project  of  the 
government  engineers  is  simply  the  con- 
struction of  jetties  rising  five  feet  above 
high  tide,  parallel  or  nearly  so  at  a  dis- 
tance of  a  mile  and  a  half  apart,  for  the 
length  of  54,000  feet.  One  has  been 
constructed  already  to  the  length  of  16,- 
ooo  feet.  The  conditions  being  dissimi- 


COAL  AND    ICE   WHARF. 


foot  of  depth  has  been  secured  upon  it, 
which,  little  as  it  seems,  is  a  matter  of 
vast  importance  to  the  commerce  of  the 

>ort,  not  only  as  an  extra  accommodation 
Eor  its  shipping,  but  as  a  showing  also,  of 

fhat  can  be  done,  by  continuing  the  work. 
A  vessel  of  1,767  tons  register  crossed 
this  outer  bar  last  fall  without  lightering 
at  all,  and  on  January  6,  last,  the  steam- 
ship Marchioness,  drawing  fifteen  feet  six 
inches  of  water,  passed  over. 


lar,  these  jetties  are  somewhat  unlike 
those  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi, 
with  which  they  have  sometimes  been 
compared,  but  the  principle  of  construc- 
tion is  much  the  same.  The  amount 
already  expended  on  them  is  $800,000; 
the  amount  necessary  to  give  a  20  foot 
depth  of  water  on  the  bar  is  $2,200,000, 
and  30  feet,  $6,200,000 ;  and  this  is  the 
sum  appropriated  for  the  work  in  the  bill 
which  has  passed  the  U.  S.  Senate  and 


66 


THE   CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


is  now  pending  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, with  excellent  prospects  of 
passage.  The  bill  provides  for  the  ex- 
penditure of  $1,000,000  a  year  on  the 
work,  so  that  in  two  or  three  years,  if  the 


MARINE     WAYS. 

bill  passes,  Galveston  would  be  a  port  of 
the  second  class — one  with  20  feet  depth 
at  its  entrance — and  in  six  years  a  port  of 
the  first  class,  or  one  with  30  feet  or 
more  of  depth  at  the  bar. 

WHARF    AND     LIGHTER    FACILITIES. 

THERE  are  eight  pilots  licensed  for 
Galveston.  They  have  two  boats  in 
service,  a  steamer  and  a  sailing  craft. 
The  lighterage  and  towing  facilities  of 
the  port  are  also  ample.  There  are  two 
companies  embarked  in  this  business  and 
operated  in  conjunction. 

The  depth  of  water  over  the  bar  not 
permitting  large  vessels,  heavily  laden,  to 
enter  the  harbor,  THE  GALVESTON 
STEAMSHIP  &  LIGHTER  Co.  was  organ- 
ized in  1880,  by  its  present  principals,  for 
the  purpose  of  providing  adequate  light- 
erage and  towing  facilities  for  the  shipping 
frequenting  this  port.  Messrs.  Adoue  & 
Lobit,  the  bankers,  T.  Wm.  English, 
engaged  in  the  coal  and  iron  trade  and 
also  a  principal  in  the  new  bagging  fac- 
tory here,  and  Capt.  J.  Moller  of  J.  Mol- 


ler  &  Co.,  ship  brokers,  organized  the 
company.  Mr.  English  is  president  of  it 
now,  Mr.  W.  L.  Moody,  cotton  factor 
and  banker,  vice-president  and  Mr.  Adoue 
general  manager.  The  office  of  the  com- 
pany is  at  No.  i  Kuhn's  Wharf. 

The  company  now  has  a  capital  stock 
of  $80,000.  It  has  in  service  four  steam 
lighters  and  one  steam  tug.  Any  of  these 
craft  can  be  used  as  towboats,  and  in 
fact,  they  are  in  frequent  use  to  fetch  sail- 
ing vessels  from  the  outside  anchorage 
ground  to  the  wharves.  Their  most  com- 
mon and  greatest  utility  as  a  port  facility 
is  however,  to  give  extra  dispatch  to  the 
loading  of  vessels  drawing  more  water 
than  is  on  the  bar.  They  enable  the  com- 
pany, with  a  sufficient  force  of  hands 
(which  sometimes  numbers  125  to  150), 
to  handle  7,000  bales  in  24  hours,  that  is, 
to  transport  that  much  cotton  from  the 
wharf  to  the  vessel  in  anchorage,  and  load 
it  aboard  of  her. 

The  gentlemen  who  have  put  their  cap- 
ital into  this  mai'itime  convenience  are 
interested  in  other  enterprises  which  have 
full  exposition  under  appropriate  classifi- 
cations of  this  work  and  which  need  not 
therefore  be  minutely  referred  to  here. 

FOURTEEN  TO  FIFTEEN  FEET  DRAFT, 
we  have  seen,  is  about  the  limit  for 
vessels  crossing  the  bar,  and  thirty 
feet,  as  has  been  said,  is  the  depth  in 
the  stream.  A  depth  of  about  fifteen 
feet  is  maintained  at  the  wharves  by 
dredging.  The  wharf  frontage  now, 
is  about  two  and  a  half  miles.  There 
is  a  sufficient  area  of  tidal  basin  avail- 
able for  its  extension  to  meet  the  de- 
mands of  the  future.  The  wharves  are 
owned  by  a  corporation  in  which  the  city 
has  a  third  interest.  The  earnings  of  this 
corporation,  about  four  per  cent  per 
annum  on  its  capitalization  of  $2,626,000, 
indicate  a  moderate  scale  of  wharfage 
rates. 

PORT  CHARGES  of  all  kinds,  it  is  claimed 
for  the  city,  are  reasonable  in  comparison 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


67 


with  those  prevailing  at  other  places. 
The  facilities  of  the  port  for  loading  and 
discharging  and  general  stevedoring,  and 
for  refitting  and  victualling  ships,  are  of 
the  most  comprehensive  character.  The 
wharf  company  maintains  a  wharf-rail- 
way, for  the  transfer  of  freights  from  the 
railroads  to  shipping,  and  vice  versa,  and 
also  marine  ways. 

SWEENEY  &  Co.,  stevedores,  Twenty- 
first  street  between  Strand  and  Mechanic, 
apply  themselves  exclusively  to  the  load- 
ing of  cotton  and  cotton  seed  products  and 
do  half  of  the  work  of  that  kind  done  at 
this  port.  They  employ  during  the  cot- 
ton season,  an  average  of  twenty-five 
gangs  of  screwmen,  of  five  men  to  a  gang, 
besides  other  laborers  to  the  number  of 
350,  all  told,  a  force  indicating  the  very 
large  business  they  do  here. 

The  partners  in  this  firm  are  C.  C. 
Sweeney,  Thos.  W.  Kirk  and  Geo.  W. 
Sweeney,  a  son  of  the  senior  member. 
Mr.  C.  C.  Sweeney  established  the  busi- 
ness before  the  war,  and  was  of  course 
obliged  to  discontinue  it  during  that 
eventful  era  for  Galveston,  but  he  re-es- 


Sweeney  could  devote  his  attention  to  the 
duties  of  office.  His  term  having  ex- 
pired he  resumed  his  place  as  general 
manager. 

Mr.  C.  C.  Sweeney  has  also  been  Com- 
missioner of  Immigration  for  Texas  and  a 
Pilot  Commissioner  for  Galveston.  Mr. 
Kirk  has  been  a  resident  of  Galveston 
since  1866,  and  has  followed  the  steve- 
doring business  ever  since  he  came  here. 
Mr.  Geo.  W.  Sweeney  is  a  native  of  the 
city  and  is  the  office  man  of  the  firm. 

CHARLES  CLARKE  &  Co.,  stevedores 
and  contractors,  corner  of  Center  street 
and  Strand,  are  engaged  as  stevedores 
discharging  and  loading  other  freights 
than  cotton,  and  have  the  bulk  of  the 
miscellaneous  business  of  that  character 
here.  They  buy  and  sell  ballast,  furnish 
steam  engines  and  hoisting  horses  for  a 
reasonable  compensation,  to  do  any  class 
of  work,  on  or  off  the  docks,  and  make  a 
specialty  of  submarine  diving. 

As  contractors,  they  are  chiefly  engaged 
on  government  work.  They  had  a 
$100,000  contract  last  year  for  removing 
the  bar  at  Aransas  Pass,  and  have  recently 


BOAT    LANDING. 


tablished  it  in  1865,  and  continued  it  until 
in  1884,  he  was  appointed  Collector  of  the 
Port  by  President  Cleveland.  Mr.  Kirk 
and  Geo.  W.  Sweeney,  his  son,  then  took 
charge  of  the  business,  so  that  Mr. 


finished  supplying  rock  for  the  jetty  work 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Brazos,  a  $37,500 
contract  with  private  parties  engaged  in 
that  engineering  enterprise.  They  have 
also  recently  contracted  with  the  Brazos 


68 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


J.    MOLLER   &    COMPANY,    SHIP   AGENTS,    LOADING    STEAMER   WITH    COTTON. 


Canal  Co.  to  supply  it  with  $78,000  or 
more  of  rock  and  they  are  prepared  to 
enter  into  contracts  for  supplying  rock  to 
the  extent  of  from  500  to  1,000  tons  daily. 
They  have,  employed  altogether,  some  250 
or  300  men,  and  their  facilities  comprise, 
besides  ample  capital,  a  steam  towboat, 
six  lighters,  and  fifteen  steam  hoisting 
engines. 

Mr.  Chas.  Clarke  has  been  a  stevedore 
and  contractor  of  Galveston  since  1865. 
His  partner  is  Mr.  Robt.  P.  Clarke,  who 
came  here  from  Massachusetts  in  1883  and 
became  a  partner  with  Mr.  Clarke  in 
1888. 

FOREIGN     STEAMSHIP    LINES. 

'MANY  steamers  of  the  class  known  as 
"  tramps  "  seek  Galveston  for  cotton 
freights  in  the  fall  and  winter  months. 


They  are  somewhat  irregular  in  the  matter 
of  arrival  and  departure,  but  the  number 
of  them  increases  every  season,  over  the 
one  preceding. 

J.  MOLLER  &  Co.,  ship  brokers,  sail 
and  steamship  agents,  importers  of  coal, 
coke,  salt,  etc.,  Strand,  between  Twen- 
tieth and  Twenty-first  streets,  do  an  extra- 
ordinary business.  As  ship  agents  they 
are  exporters  of  250,000  to  300,000  bales 
of  cotton  a  year  and  15,000  tons  of  oil 
cake ;  and  as  coal  dealers  they  import 
20,000  tons  in  the  same  time.  They  ship- 
ped, August  3Oth  last,  the  first  cotton 
cargo  of  the  past  season,  3,390  bales, 
to  Liverpool,  by  the  steamer  "  Ame- 
thyst." 

They  are  the  agents  here  for  the  "Texas- 
European"  Steamship  Line,  plying  be- 
tween Galveston,  and  Liverpool,  Havre 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVE8TON. 


69 


and  Bremen,  and  for  the  "Black  Star" 
steamship  line,  running  from  Galveston  to 
Liverpool,  and  they  are  the  consignees  of 
numerous  sailing  vessels  that  frequent 
this  port.  They  have  business  enough  to 
employ  one  hundred  men  on  the  wharves 
and  are  largely  interested  besides  in  the 
Galveston  Steamship  &  Lighterage  Com- 
pany, of  which  one  of  the  firm  is  secre- 
tary. 

Capt.  Moller  is  the  vice-consul  also  of 
Denmark  and  of  Russia  here,  with  juris- 
diction over  the  territory  comprised  by 
Texas,  Indian  Territory,  New  Mexico 
and  Arizona.  He  was  formerly  a  ship- 
master, but  has  been  engaged  in  these 
lines  here  since  1879.  His  partner,  Mr. 
Thos.  H.  Sweeney,  has  been  a  resident 
of  Galveston  since  1868.  He  was  for- 
merly engaged  as  a  stevedore  here  in  com- 


pany with  his  brother,  Chas.  Sweeney, 
lately  Collector  of  the  Port.  Mr.  Sweeney 
himself  has  been  an  Alderman  of  the 
city,  and  is  considered  a  remarkably  ener- 
getic man  in  mercantile  and  maritime 
affairs.  Both  he  and  Capt.  Moller  have 
important  investments  in  enterprises  of 
that  character,  among  the  rest  are  in  the 
coal  business  as  L.  C.  Leith  &  Co.,  Dar- 
ragh's  Wharf. 

L.  C.  LEITH  &  Co.,  importers  of  for- 
eign and  wholesale  dealers  in  domestic 
coals,  ce'ments,  coke,  etc.,  have  been  three 
years  established  and  have  trade  through- 
out Texas.  The  business  of  this  house 
is  an  outgrowth  from  that  of  J.  Moller  & 
Co.,  ship  agents  of  this  city,  sole  propri- 
etors of  it,  a  firm  whose  large  impor- 
tations requiring  division  of  manage- 
ment and  separation  of  interests,  a  new 


SCENE   ON    A   COTTON    DOCK. 


70 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


partnership  was  formed  ;  and  this  branch 
of  their  business  was  placed  under  the 
direction  of  Capt.  Leith,  formerly  a  ship- 
master, but  a  resident  here  since  iSSi. 

The  firm  of  L.  C.  Leith  &  Co.  does 
some  retail  business,  but  is  chiefly  engaged 
as  a  wholesale  dealer  in  steam,  house  and 
blacksmiths'  coal,  English  patent  coke, 
English  and  German  Portland  cement 
and  salt.  Some  20,000  tons  of  coal  were 
handled  by  it  last  year  and  two  cargoes 
of  salt.  Vessels  consigned  to  J.  Moller  & 
Co.  discharge  at  Leith  &  Co.'s  place  on 


touching  en  route  at  Key  West,  Florida, 
and  the  same  number  returning.  It  has 
three  steamers  engaged  also  in  a  Xew 
York  and  Florida  line,  and  ten  boats  in 
service  altogether,  iron  steamships,  espec- 
ially constructed  for  the  Gulf  trade,  and 
commanded  by  the  following  experienced 
masters:  The  "  Leona,  "  a  new  boat  of 
3, 500  tons  measurement,  Capt.  Bolger  ;  the 
"Nueces,  "  Capt.  S.  Risk,  3,367  tons  ;  the 
"  Comal,  "  Capt.  J.  Risk,  2,950;  the 
"  Lampasas,  "  Crowell,  master,  2,942; 
the  "  Alamo,  "  Lewis,  2,942;  the  "San 


MALLORY    LINE    STEAMSHIP   AT    SEA. 


Darragh's  Wharf,  immediately  on  the 
water  front,  where  rail  and  ship  meet. 
The  shipping  facilities  of  the  house  are 
therefore  unsurpassed  here,  and  rates  can 
be  given  to  all  parts  of  Texas  as  low  as 
it  is  possible  to  get  them. 

NEW   YORK     STEAMSHIP    LINES. 

THE  MALLORY  LINE,  or  New  York  and 
Texas  Steamship  Co.,  runs  three  steamers 
a  week  out  of  Galveston  for  New  York, 


Marcos,"  Burrows,  2,840;  the  "Colo- 
rado, "  Evans,  2,764  ;  the  "  Rio  Grande,  " 
Conners,  2,656;  the  "  State  of  Texas,  " 
Williams,  1,696,  and  the  "City  of 
San  Antonio,  "  Wilder,  1,652. 

These  vessels  carry  both  freight  and 
passengers,  and  are  thoroughly  appointed 
for  passenger  business.  They  are  speed- 
ier than  the  special  freight  carriers.  They 
make  the  trip  of  nearly  2,000  miles  along 
the  Southern  coast  in  six  or  seven  day*. 
have  large  and  airy  state  rooms,  accom- 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


71 


modating  two,  bath  and  smoking  rooms, 
and  meals  served  as  well  as  in  the  best 
hotels.  The  steerage  accommodations 
are  also  superior.  Through  tickets  can 
be  secured  in  New  York  via  this  line  to 
all  points  in  Mexico,  Texas,  the  South- 
western territories  and  California,  and 
vice  versa,  at  rates  which  are  a  consider- 
able reduction  on  all  rail  fares ;  and 
excursion  rates  are  made  every  season. 
The  travel  during  the  summer  months  is 
large  between  Galveston  and  New  York 
and  in  the  fall  lively  the  other  way. 

The  steamers  of  this  line  get  over  Gal- 
veston bar  loaded  with  4,500  to  5,000 
bales  of  cotton  at  13^- feet  draft.  Freights 
to  New  York  from  here  are  chiefly  cotton 
and  cotton  seed  oil,  sugar,  wool,  mo- 
lasses and  ixtle  or  Mexican  hemp. 
About  150  hands  are  employed  on  the 
Mallory  dock  here.  Large  cargoes  of 
general  merchandise  are  carried  usually 
between  New  York  and  Galveston. 
Business,  stimulated  by  the  general  pros- 
perity of  Texas  and  the  growth  of  rail- 
road traffic,  in  which  this  line  pai'ticipates, 
is  rapidly  increasing.  The  line  is 
independent  of  railroad  influences,  but 
connects  with  all  that  focus  here,  and  also 
at  New  York  with  the  steamers  for  for- 
eign ports. 

The  Mallory  line  has  been  established 
about  20  years.  C.  H.  Mallory  &  Co. 
are  New  York  agents  and  managers  of 
the  line.  C.  H.  Mallory  is  president  of 
the  company  operating  it ;  E.  Spicer,  vice- 
president  ;  H.  R.  Mallory,  treasurer ; 
Wm.  Mason,  secretary  ;  Chas.  and  Robert 
Mallory,  directors.  These  officials  are 
all  located  at  New  York.  The  agents  of 
the  company  here  are  J.  N.  SAWYER  & 
Co.,  Strand  near  Twenty-fourth  street. 
Capt.  Sawyer  inaugurated  the  Mallory 
service  by  bringing  the  first  boat  here, 
and  soon  after  he  had  done  so  settled 
here  as  its  agent.  He  has  been  its  repre- 
sentative here  ever  since,  and  has  handled 
the  important  interests  involved  with  ex- 


cellent tact  and  judgment.  Mr.  Hamp- 
ton Young  has  been  associated  with  him 
for  about  13  years.  He  supervises  the 
office  details. 

THE  MORGAN  LINE,  or  to  be  more 
exact,  Morgan's  Louisiana  &  Texas  Rail- 
road and  Steamship  Company,  derives  its 
name  from  Chas.  Morgan,  a  capitalist  of 
New  York,  New  Orleans  and  Galveston, 
who  was  among  the  first  to  perceive  the 
rising  importance  of  Galveston  as  a  sea- 
port, and  who  established  a  line  of  steam- 
ers from  New  York  to  New  Orleans  and 
this  city,  so  long  ago  as  1845.  The  exigen- 
cies of  the  service  developed,  finally,  the 
railroad  feature  of  this  company's  business, 
a  line  from  Morgan  City  on  the  Louisi- 
ana coast,  to  New  Orleans,  affording  a 
more  direct  means  of  communication 
than  the  river  and  sea  passage  from  the 
Crescent  to  the  Oleander  city.  Some 
years  ago  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad 
Company  purchased  the  Morgan  interests 
and  has  since  operated  the  steamship  line 
as  a  subordinate,  but  independent  organ- 
ization, of  which  the  president  and  gen- 
eral manager  is  Mr.  A.  C.  Hutchins,  the 
Southern  Pacific  agent  at  New  Orleans. 

The  Morgan  Company  is  capitalized 
at  $10,000,000,  and  besides  the  railroad, 
owns  and  operates  a  fleet  of  ten  steam- 
ers, several  coasters,  and  the  auxiliary 
Houston  barge  line  of  the  Houston  Direct 
Navigation  Co.  The  steamei's  of  the 
line,  the  "  Chalmette,"  "Lone  Star," 
"El  Monte,"  "Excelsior,"  "Algiers," 
"  Eureka,"  "  El  Paso,"  "  New  York  ' 
and  "  El  Dorado  "  are  employed  in  the 
trade  between  New  York  and  New 
Orleans  and  Galveston  ;  also  in  trips  from 
New  Orleans  to  Key  West  and  Havana 
and  to  the  ports  on  the  Texas  and  Mexi- 
can Gulf  coast  from  both  New  Orleans 
and  Galveston.  They  are  freight  carriers 
chiefly,  but  they  have  accommodations 
also  for  passengers. 

The  New  Orleans  and  New  York  line 
has  two  steamers  sailing  from  each  port 


72 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


weekly,  the  Galveston  line  one.  The 
largest  vessels  of  the  line  are  on  the  New 
York  and  New  Orleans  route'.  From 
New  York  to  Galveston  by  the  Morgan 
line,  is  1,850  miles.  This  distance  is 
made  in  seven  days.  No  passengers  are 
carried  on  the  New  York  lines,  but  they 
are  taken  for  the  passage  between  New 
Orleans,  Charlotte's  Harbor,  Key  West 
and  Havana,  a  distance  of  800  miles,  or 
a  three  days'  trip. 

Steamers  of  this  latter  route  leave  New 
Orleans  every  Wednesday.  Between  New 
Orleans  and  Brazos  Santiago,  they  run 
three  times  a  month,  and  between  New 
Orleans  and  Vera  Cruz  twice  a  month, 
touching  at  Galveston  both  ways.  They 
thus  leave  Galveston  for  Brazos  Santiago 
every  ten  days  and  for  Vera  Cruz  the 
"Harlan"  sails  the  2d  and  iyth  of  each 
month  and  arrives  home  the  nth  and  26th. 
The  Coast  line  runs  only  from  November 
i  to  May  i,  the  New  York  and  New 
Orleans  line,  however,  the  year  round. 

Freights  are  taken  at  New  York  for 
delivery  at  New  Orleans,  Mobile,  all 
Mississippi  river  points,  Galveston,  Hous- 
ton, Indianola,  Corpus  Christi,  Brazos 
Santiago,  Brownsville,  all  Texas  interior 
points,  and  also  freight  destined  for 
Old  and  New  Mexico,  Arizona  and 
California.  General  merchandise,  heavy 
freights  particularly,  make  the  bulk  of  the 
cargoes  brought  this  way ;  cotton,  for 
which  the  New  Orleans  steamers  have  a 
carrying  capacity  of  10,000  bales  and  the 
Galveston  steamers  4,600  bales  each,  is, 
with  sugar,  molasses,  cotton  seed  oil,  wool 
and  hides,  the  principal  item  of  traffic 
eastward-bound.  The  general  business 
of  the  line  is  increasing.  It  is  accelerated 
considerably  by  the  growth  of  the  South- 
ern Pacific  Railroad  system  and  its  con- 
nections, of  which,  as  has  been  said,  the 
Morgan  Line  is  part. 

THE  HOUSTON  DIRECT  NAVIGATION 
Co.,  an  adjunct  of  the  Morgan  Line  and 
Southern  Pacific,  owns  six  towboats  and 


twenty 'barges  plying  between  here  and 
Houston,  on  Galveston  Bay  and  Buffalo 
Bayou.  During  the  season  September  i 
to  May  i,  a  tug  towing  five  barges  makes 
daily  trips.  They  bring  from  Houston 
cotton  and  cotton  oil,  cake,  seed,  etc.,  and 
return  with  general  merchandise.  The 
facilities  are  equal  to  a  traffic  of  15,000 
bales  a  day.  Other  tugs  owned  by  this 
same  company  are  used  for  towage  and 
barge  service  in  this  harbor. 

The  two  enterprises,  the  steamship 
line  and  the  Houston  company,  employ 
during  the  cotton  season,  here  and  at 
Houston,  several  hundred  hands.  About 
200  laborers  are  engaged  at  the  company's 
dock  here,  and  as  many  more  at  the 
Bayou  city.  The  vice-president,  secre- 
tary and  treasurer,  and  superintendent  of 
the  barge  company  are  located  at  Hous- 
ton where  connection  is  made  with  the 
Southern  Pacific.  The  local  superintend- 
ent is  L.  P.  Dignan. 

Both  companies  have  their  landing  here 
at  Central  Wharf.  CAPT.  CHAS.  FOWLER 
is  manager  for  the  Morgan  Line  and  pres- 
ident of  the  Navigation  Co.  Capt.  Fow- 
ler has  been  an  Alderman  of  the  city  for 
the  last  five  years  and  a  Pilot  Commission- 
er of  the  State  for  twenty.  He  is  chairman 
of  the  Building  Committee  of  the  John 
Sealy  Hospital,  a  local  benefaction,  is 
president  of  the  Texas  Ice  Co.,  and  a 
director  of  the  Houston  &  Texas  Central 
Railway.  He  has  been  with  the  Morgan 
Line  for  thirty-four  years,  for  ten  years 
as  master  of  steamships,  and  for  twenty- 
four  as  its  Galveston  agent.  He  is  a  man 
of  property  and  influence ;  and  his  resi- 
dence is  one  of  the  finest  in  the  fashiona- 
ble quarter  of  the  city.  A  cut  of  it  em- 
bellishes page  13  of  this  work. 

THE  GALVESTON  AND  BRAZOS  NAVI- 
GATION COMPANY  has  two  steamers  of 
light  draft  in  the  coast  and  river  trade  of 
Galveston.  These  ply  chiefly  up  the 
Brazos  river  into  "  the  Sugar  Bowl  of 
Texas." 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


73 


SHIP    CHANDLERS    AND    GROCERS. 

H.  MARWITZ  &  Co.,  ship  chandlers, 
grocers  and  liquor  dealers,  corner  of 
Mechanic  and  Twenty-second  streets, 
carry  a  $50,000  stock,  and  have  both  a 
city  and  State  trade.  The  bulk  of  the 
business  of  the  house  is,  however,  with 
the  shipping  frequenting  the  port,  and  to 
supply  that  trade  a  very  large  and  miscel- 
laneous stock  of  rope  of  all  kinds,  and 
hawsers,  duck,  oars,  anchors,  chains, 
blocks,  naval  and  engineers'  stores,  and 
ship's  hardware  is  carried  by  it.  Among 
other  agencies  the  following  are  held  by 
it:  For  Walter  Coleman  &  Son's  blocks 
and  sheaves  ;  Leonard  &  Ellis'  valvoline 
oils ;  Henry  N.  Stone's  Edson's  patent 
diaphragm  free  pumps,  and  the  Revere 
Copper  Company's  yellow  metal.  Pro- 
visions and  ship  stores  make  also  a  large 
part  of  its  stock. 

The  "Co."  of  the  firm  name  is  nominal 
merely.  Mr.  Marwitz,  who  founded  the 
house  in  1860,  is  sole  proprietor.  He  has 
been  a  resident  here  since  1851,  and  is 
one  of  the  best  known  and  most  substan- 
tial citizens  of  Galveston.  He  is  a  direc- 
tor of  the  Island  City  Savings  Bank  and 
the  Texas  Cotton  Press  Co.,  is  a  stock- 
holder in  numerous  other  enterprises  here 
and  is  a  large  property  owner.  He  has, 
therefore,  ample  resources  for  his  busi- 
ness. 

T.  L.  CROSS  &  Co.,  ship  chandlers, 
manufacturers'  agents  and  commission 
merchants,  corner  of  Center  street  and 
Strand,  is  the  firm  name  adopted  by  Mr. 
Cross,  formerly  of  Schneider  &  Cross, 
grocers  and  ship  chandlers,  for  the  busi- 
ness he  has  been  pursuing  by  himself  since 
June,  1889.  Schneider  &  Cross  dissolved 
and  divided  their  trade,  Mr.  S.  taking  the 
grocery  department,  and  Mr.  Cross,  be- 
lieving Galveston  sufficiently  large  to 
justify  it,  the  ship  chandlery  department 
of  the  old  firm's  business.  He  is  the  only 
person  engaged  exclusively  in  ship  chand- 


lery here ;  the  other  Galveston  houses  of 
that  line  all  do  a  grocery  business  also. 

He  is  agent  for  the  Boston  &  Lockport 
Block  Company,  and  handles  all  the  pro- 
ductions of  that  concern  sold  here  ;  for  W. 
J.  Woolsey,  Jersey  City,  copper  paints, 
and  Q.  S.  Backus,  of  Middletown,  Conn., 
braces.  When  the  Westbrook  Manufac- 
turing Company  recently  withdrew  its 
agencies  from  the  Southern  ports,  New 
Orleans  excepted,  he  bought  all  its  stock 
of  duck,  and  is  carrying  a  larger  line  of  it 
than  anybody  here.  He  has  a  $15,000 
stock  and  is  doing  already  about  three 
times  that  much  business  a  year. 

Mr.  Cross  has  been  a  resident  here  since 
1859,  and  a  business  man  of  Galveston 
ever  since  the  war.  He  is  a  notary  public, 
with  considerable  maritime  patronage. 

CAPT.  C.  NICOLINI,  grocer,  ship  chand- 
ler and  importer  of  wines  and  liquors, 
tobacco  and  cigars,  corner  of  Strand  and 
Twentieth  street,  has  been  a  resident  here 
for  the  last  six  years.  Having  spent  a 
long  period  of  his  life  as  master  of  an 
Italian  merchantman,  he  is  well  adapted 
for  a  trade  that  brings  him  into  relations 
with  persons  of  the  maritime  professions. 
He  handles  groceries  at  wholesale  and 
retail,  and  does  both  a  State  and  city  trade 
in  them. 

In  the  liquor  business,  which  is  run  as 
a  separate  department,  he  has  his  brother 
for  a  partner.  In  this  line  they  handle, 
besides  imported  goods  of  all  kinds,  the 
finest  of  Kentucky  whiskies,  and  are  in 
regular  receipt  of  consignments  of  Cali- 
fornia wines  direct  from  the  districts  of  the 
Golden  State  in  which  they  are  produced. 

Capt.  Nicolini  has  visited,  in  the  course 
of  his  vocation  as  a  seaman,  the  greater 
part  of  the  known  world,  and  has  spent  a 
considerable  time  in  India  and  China.  He 
is  the  Italian  consul  here.  Mr.  D.  Nico- 
lini, hre  brother  and  partner,  was  in  busi- 
ness as  a  trader  of  the  Mediterranean 
coasts,  and  he  too  has,  in  his  time,  com- 
manded deep  water  craft. 


GALVESTON   AS   A   COTTON   MARKET. 


:OTTON  is  easily  first  of 
the  staples  of  commerce 
at  Galveston.  Out  of  a 
total  trade  of  $100,000,- 
ooo,  approximately,  for  the 
year  ending  September  30, 
1889,  the  cotton  year  of  the  South- 
ern cities,  the  value  of  the  cotton 
received  in  this  market  was  $52?~ 
500,000.  In  bales  the  receipts  were 
809,341,  an  increase  over  the  season  pre- 
ceding of  190,630,  or  values  of  $12,- 
390,950. 

The  increase  in  receipts  since  the  sea- 
son of  1884-85,  has  been,  in  round  num- 
bers, 240,000  bales,  and  $22,000,000  of 
values  thereby;  since  iSSo  it  is  515,267 
bales  and  $43^250,000  in  values.  But  one 
Southern  city,  New  Orleans,  has  a  greater 
cotton  trade,  and  but  two  cities  of  the 
country,  New  Orleans  and  New  York, 
are  larger  cotton  markets.  Savannah 
which,  for  many  years,  has  been  a  spirited 
rival  of  Galveston  for  place,  has  fallen 
behind  in  the  race,  chiefly  because  of  the 
advantage  this  city  has  in  the  extension  of 
the  area  of  her  back  country  of  Texas, 
devoted  to  cotton. 

The  cotton  crop  of  Texas  last  year  was 
1,300,000  bales.  Galveston  therefore 
handled  a  quantity  equal  to  sixty-two  per 
cent  of  the  State's  product, and  an  eighth  of 
the  product  of  the  South.  About  half  the 
receipts  of  this  market  are  destined  ulti- 
mately for  Northern  looms ;  the  other 
half  goes  abroad,  to  Liverpool  largely, 
for  Manchester  and  other  English  spin- 
ners, to  Havre,  Bremen,  Hamburg,  St. 
Petersburg  and  other  Continental  ports. 
The  statement  of  the  Collector  of  the 
Port,  in  the  chapter  preceding  this,  shows 
that  the  shipments  to  European  ports  from 
Galveston  via  New  York,  continue  to 
increase  at  a  greater  relative  rate  than  the 
shipments  foreign  direct.-  This  is  because 
New  York  affords  superior  advantages  as 


a  distributing  center  both  domestic  and 
foreign,  and  because  the  deficiency  of 
this  port  in  respect  of  its  bar  necessitates 
an  extra  levy  upon  commerce  for  lighter- 
ing the  larger  vessels. 

COMPRESS    AND   STORAGE    FACILITIES. 

FOR  such  a  trade  as  this  of  Galveston  in 
cotton,  the  most  comprehensive  compress 
and  storage  facilities  are  requisite.  These 
are  provided  by  the  Gulf  City  Cotton 
Press  &  Manufacturing  Co.  and  the  Tay- 
lor Compress  Co.  which  operates,  besides 
its  own  compress,  the  Factors  and 
Shippers  presses,  owned  by  the  South- 
ern Cotton  Press  &  Manufacturing 
Company.  Over  $1,500,000  is  invested 
in  these  various  enterpi'ises.  The  build- 
.ings  are  all  substantially  built  of  brick 
and  are  connected  by  side  track  with  both 
railroads  and  shipping.  The  four  com- 
presses in  them  are  of  the  latest  pattern, 
and  with  their  machinery  4,750  bales  a  day 
can  be  compressed.  The  yards  and  sheds 
have  storage  capacity  equal  to  1 14,000 
bales  a  day  or  680,000  for  the  season,  and 
this  capacity  could  be  largely  increased 
by  utilizing  yards  now  lying  idle. 

THE  TAYLOR  COMPRESS  COMPANY, 
which  has  its  offices  corner  of  Post  Office 
and  Thirtieth  streets,  owns  the  presses 
and  warehouses  covering  two  and  a  half 
blocks  on  Market  street,  between  Twenty- 
ninth  and  Thirty-second  streets,  and  is 
operating,  under  lease,  besides  its  own, 
the  Shippers  and  the  Factors  presses,  the 
former  situated  on  both  sides  of  Mechanic 
street,  from  Twenty-eighth  to  Thirty- 
first,  and  the  latter  on  both  sides  of 
Church,  between  the  same  thoroughfares, 
or  four  blocks  each.  The  Taylor  Com- 
press Company  has  two  compresses,  one 
of  1,200  tons  power,  equal  to  800  to  1,000 
bales  a  day  of  ten  hours ;  the  other  of 
4,000  tons  and  750  bales  a  day.  The 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTOK 


75 


Shippersjhas  an  Soo  to  1,000  bales  a  day 
press,  and  the  Factors  one  of  about  the 
same  capacity.  The  storage  capacity  of 
the  yards  and  warehouses  of  the  Taylor 
press  is  about  30,000  bales  a  day,  or  150,- 
ooo  bales  for  the  season,  and  of  the  Ship- 
pers and  Factors,  400,000  bales  a  season. 
The  three  presses,  therefore,  have  facili- 
ties to  compress  3,250  to  3,500  bales  a  day 
and  storage  for  500,000  bales  in  a  season. 
From  present  indications  the  lessee  com- 
pany will  handle  at  the  Taylor,  for  the 
cotton  buyers,  the  spinners'  buyers,  ex- 
porters and  shippers  located  here,  during 
the  present  season,  (1889-90,)  100,000  to 
115,000  bales,  and  at  the  others  (the 
Shippers  chiefly),  80,000  to  90,000,  or 
from  180,000  to  240,000  bales. 

These  presses  are  all  located  adjacent 
to  the  railroads  entering  the  city  and  are 
connected  with  them  by  special  tracks. 
They  are  equipped  with  the  Taylor  pat- 
tern of  steam  and  hydraulic  presses.  The 
Taylor  Compress  Company's  new  4,000 
ton  Miller  press  is  the  most  powerful  com- 
press in  the  South.  It  is  furnished  with 
"cut  offs,"  and  can  be  adjusted  in  a  few 
minutes  to  give  any  pressure  required  on 
a  bale  of  cotton.  Where  four  of  the  cyl- 
inders are  used  it  can  turn  out  120  bales 
an  hour  by  putting  2,000  tons  pressure  on 
each  bale.  With  six  cylinders  the  bale 
receives  a  pressure  of  3,000  tons,  and  with 
all  of  its  eight  cylinders  in  use  it  exerts  a 
pressure  of  4,000  tons  on  the  bale.  With 
this  compi'ess  the  company  guarantees  to 
load  a  40,000  pound  standard  box  car  with 
80  bales  of  520  pounds  each,  or  more  than 
its  full  capacity „  and  to  put  5,000  bales 
into  a  vessel  of  i  ,000  tons  register. 

The  Taylor  Compress  Company  has  no 
open  yard  ;  the  whole  property  is  covered 
with  one  and  two  story  brick  warehouses 
completely  roofed  in.  The  other  two 
have  the  usual  arrangement  of  covered 
sheds,  open  at  one  side,  and  open  central 
yards.  They  are  all  well  provided  with 
the  facilities  to  extinguish  fire,  and  have 


an  ample  force  of  employes  to  guard 
against  it.  The  Taylor  press  employs 
about  100  men  and  the  other  two  about 
the  same  number  each.  There  are  wells 
and  cisterns,  hydrants  and  hose  provided 
them,  and  Babcock  extinguishers  distrib- 
uted throughout,  for  any  incipient  blazes. 
Automatic  sprinklers  also  are  to  be  put 
into  the  Taylor  press  warehouses  next 
season. 

The  Taylor  Compress  Company,  oper- 
ating these  presses,  was  organized  in  1876 
by  buyers  and  shippers  and  others  inter- 
ested in  the  trade,  to  build  the  Taylor 
press,  which  derived  its  name  from  the 
patentee  of  the  compress  ordered  for  its 
use.  The  Taylor  press  originally  put  in 
has  been  replaced  by  those  already  men- 
tioned, and  greater  power,  speed  and  effi- 
ciency has  thus  been  secured.  The  officers 
of  this  company  are  Wm.  F.  Ladd,  of 
W.  F.  Ladd  &  Co.,  cotton  buyers, 
president;  Thomas  Gonzales,  of  Sloan  & 
Gonzales,  cotton  buyers  also,  treasurer, 
and  Wm.  Ci'ooks,  general  manager.  Mr. 
Ladd  is  vice-president  of  the  Cotton 
Exchange  and  has  long  been  one  of  the 
most  prominent  figures  in  the  cotton  trade 
here.  He  is  secretary  and  treasurer  also 
of  the  Galveston  Bagging  &  Cordage 
Company  and  is  interested  in  a  number  ot 
other  local  enterprises.  Mr.  Gonzales  is 
too,  a  notable  man  in  the  Galveston  cotton 
market.  He  likewise  has  been  vice-pres- 
ident of  the  Exchange,  and  his  firm  is 
regarded  one  of  the  most  substantial  in 
the  business. 

The  Southern  Cotton  Press  &  Manufac- 
turing Company,  owning  the  Shippers  and 
Factors  presses,  is  a  corporation  having 
$1,000,000  capital,  and  owning  besides 
these  press  properties,  the  old  Merchants, 
now  given  over  to  storage,  and  some 
twenty-nine  blocks  of  ground  all  told,  the 
whole  worth  fully  as  much  as  its  capitali- 
zation. J.  H.  Hutchings,  of  Ball,  Hutch- 
ings  &  Co.,  bankers,  is  president  of  the 
company. 


76 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


LEADING  HOUSES  OF  THE  TRADE. 

FACILITIES  for  the  traffic  of  every  sort 
are  provided, — railroad,  banking,  com- 
mercial ;  the  latter  by  a  number  of  houses 
of  exceptionally  substantial  resources, 
among  whom  the  following  are  notable : 

W.  F.  LADD  &  Co.,  Strand  and  Twenty- 
first  street,  having  been  in  the  business  for 
nearly  half  a  century,  is  one  of  the  most 
solid  cotton  houses  of  the  South.  Before 
the  war  this  house  was  known  as  Ladd  & 
Armory,  and  after  the  close  of  that  event- 
ful period  as  A.  H.  Ladd  &  Co.  the  senior 
member  then  being  the  uncle  of  the  senior 
member  of  to-day,  W.  F.  Ladd.  This 
house  buys  in  this  market  and  through  cor- 
respondents throughout  the  interior,  and 
handles  during  the  season  from  50,000  to 
60,000  bales  of  the  staple.  For  many  years 
it  has  had  established  connections  with 
Northern  manufacturing  centers  and  it  is 
a  house  whose  standing  and  character 
makes  it  a  thoroughly  representative 
establishment.  Mr.  W.  F.  Ladd  is  pres- 
ident of  the  Taylor  Compress  Co.,  and 
president  of  the  Gulf  City  Cotton  Com- 
press &  Manufacturing  Co.,  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  Cotton  Exchange  and  chair- 
man of  some  of  its  most  important  com- 
mittees, is  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
Galveston  Bagging  Co.,  director  of  the 
Galveston  Cotton  &  Woolen  Mills,  and 
director  of  the  Texas  Land  &  Loan  Co. 
Mr.  J.  C.  S.  Spencer,  the  "  Co."  of  this 
firm,  is  also  vice-president  of  the  Taylor 
Compress  Co.  and  a  director  of  the  Gal- 
veston Wharf  Co. 

LAMMERS  &  FLINT,  cotton  factors  and 
commission  merchants,  Strand  between 
Twenty-first  and  Twenty-second  streets, 
are  large  dealers  in  the  leading  staples  of 
Texas  such  as  cotton,  wool,  etc.  They 
have  been  prominently  identified  with  the 
commercial  interests  of  the  State  for  the 
last  twenty-five  years  and  are  classed  with 
its  leading  business  men.  They  get  con- 
signments of  cotton  from  all  parts  of  the 


State,  and  their  rooms  often  contain  the 
samples  of  5,000  bales  of  cotton  on  hand 
and  for  sale  ;  and  they  receive  considera- 
ble shipments  of  wool  for  sale  in  this  mar- 
ket, from  the  different  wool-growing  dis- 
tricts of  Texas  as  well  as  from  neighbor- 
ing States,  and  make  advances  upon 
shipments  at  the  reduced  rates  of  six  per 
cent  interest  per  annum.  The  members 
of  this  firm  are  connected  in  various  ways 
with  the  moneyed  institutions  and  indus- 
trial enterprises  of  Galveston  and  they 
have  long  been  resident  here. 

AGENCIES  ARE  MAINTAINED  HERE  by 
many  large  foreign  houses,  who  buy  in 
this  and  the  Houston  market,  and  send 
out  buyers  also  into  the  country  districts. 
There  are  numerous  brokers  in  the  staple 
too.  Changes  in  the  trade,  resulting  from 
railroad  methods,  the  building  of  com- 
presses in  the  interior,  and  dealings  of 
shippers  with  the  countrymen  direct,  have 
diverted  some  business  from  the  factors  ; 
but  this  loss  has  been  more  than  made 
good  by  the  growth  of  the  wool  and  hide 
business,  and  of  importations  of  coffee, 
in  which  many  of  them  also  engage. 

The  merchants  of  all  classes  in  the  trade 
and  with  them  many  of  other  lines,  are 
organized  as  a  COTTON  EXCHANGE,  which, 
of  late,  in  response  to  the  general  desire, 
has  assumed  the  functions  also  of  a  Board 
of  Trade  for  the  city.  It  has  151  active 
members,  and  its  action  voices  popular 
opinion  with  respect  to  the  business  inter- 
ests of  both  port  and  city.  Julius  Runge, 
banker  and  cotton  factor,  is  its  president, 
leading  merchants  its  directors. 

Three  large  new  manufacturing  con- 
cerns lately  established  in  the  city,  wit- 
ness the  reciprocal  relations  developed 
between  the  planter  of  Texas  and  the 
merchant  of  Galveston,  a  jute  bagging 
mill,  a  cotton  goods  factory  and  a  cotton 
rope  and  twine  mills.  These  are  described 
hereinafter,  in  the  chapter  of  this  work 
on  the  manufactures  of  the  city ;  and  so 
also  are  the  cotton  oil  mills  of  Galveston. 


GENERAL  TRADE  OF  THE  CITY. 


HILE  cotton  overshad- 
ows all  the  other  lines 
of  trade  at  Galveston, 
not  merely  in  respect 
of  its  volume,  but  as 
well  from  the  indus- 
tries dependent  upon 
it,  the  commerce  of  the  city  still  has  con- 
siderable variety,  and  numerous  other 
branches  of  business  serve  as  a  measure 
of  its  enterprise  and  progress. 

Galveston  has  about  fifty  large  jobbing 
houses.  Some  of  these  do  business  upon 
a  scale  that  would  rank  them  among  the 
foremost  in  any  city.  Most  of  them  are 
long  established.  Many  of  them  have 
extraordinary  resources.  Several  of  them 
employ  from  a  dozen  to  thirty  drum- 
mers. Three  of  them  do,  between  them, 
$6,500,000  in  sales  a  year.  Two  of  them 
carry  insurance  on  their  stocks  to  the 
amount  for  both,  of  $1,200,000.  There 
has  not  been  a  failure  of  note  in  several 
years. 

Seaports,  as  a  rule,  do  a  third  more 
business  than  inland  cities  of  equal  popu- 
lation. Galveston,  in  point  of  fact,  does 
a  half  more  than  the  same  sized  places  in 
Texas.  The  estimate  of  the  Galveston 
News  that  its  jobbing  trade  alone,  irre- 
spective of  cotton,  manufactures,  build- 
ing improvements,  real  estate  transfers 
and  retail  business,  is  $25,000,000  is  very 
modest  indeed.  It  is  likely  very  much 
more.  The  importations  of  coffee,  hard- 
ware, dry  goods,  cotton  ties,  coal,  liquors, 
salt  and  sundries,  we  have  seen  already, 
were  $1,750,000  in  1888  alone,  and  are 
fast  rising  above  $2,000,000  a  year.  The 
grain  trade  of  the  city  is  between  $750,000 
and  $1,000,000  a  year.  The  produce 
business  is  little  less.  Sugar  receipts 
from  the  Texas  plantations,  although  they 


increase  little,  if  any,  are  upwards  of 
$500,000  in  the  aggregate.  The  lumber 
trade  rises  above  $1,000.000.  Wool  and 
hides,  not  counting  the  shipments  through, 
which,  in  the  absence  of  a  record,  may  be 
anything  from  $1,000,000,  or  $10,000,000, 
are  certainly  $1,500,000.  Here  are  $6,- 
000,000  alone,  not  counting  the  regular 
commercial  lines,  like  groceries,  dry  goods, 
clothing,  drugs,  paints,  etc. 

The  jobbing  capital  of  the  city,  as  given 
in  the  News,  is  $10,000,000.  The  grocery 
sales  aggregates  $12,500,000;  dry  goods, 
$5,000,000  ;  clothing  and  furnishing  goods, 
$1,500,000;  boots  and  shoes,  $i, 000,000; 
hardware  and  agricultural  implements, 
$2,000,000 ;  lumber,  sash, blinds  and  mate- 
rial of  that  character,  $1,250,000;  cotton 
cake  and  oil,  $1,500,000;  live  stock, 
$500,000;  drugs,  paints  and  oils,  $650,- 
ooo;  ties  and  baling  stuffs,  $600,000; 
crockery,  furniture  and  sundry  classifica- 
tions, absorb  the  remainder  of  the  total. 
These  figures  do  not  cover  the  manufac- 
tures or  retail  trade  of  the  city  at  all, 
which  two  items  would  add  ten  or  twelve 
millions  more  to  the  grand  aggregate. 

The  importations  are  a  measure  of  the 
business  done.  They  amount  to  $2,000,- 
ooo  as  compared  with  $10,000,000  for 
New  Orleans,  a  city  of  five  times  the 
population  of  Galveston,  but  having  very 
similar  trade.  The  imports  of  coffee, 
for  1889,  estimated  by  the  report  of  the 
first  half  year  were  $601,886,  an  increase 
of  fifty  per  cent.  According  to  F.  Can- 
non &  Co.,  the  importations  of  coffee  are 
doubled  over  two  years  ago.  From  Rio 
75,000  to  80,000  bags  now  come  yearly. 
According  to  Miller  &  Ayers,  the  receipts 
of  Galveston,  direct  and  indirect,  are 
100,000  to  125,000  bags  a  year. 

The  next   largest  item    to    coffee    was 


78 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


hardware,  $538,136;  then  dry  goods, 
$229,440;  cotton  ties  next,  $129,868; 
wines  and  liquors,  $67,398;  coal  and 
coke,  $63,456;  salt,  $34,000;  cement, 
$25,062;  sundries,  $257,002;  total,  $i,- 
936,238.  Among  the  exports,  the  most 
notable,  besides  cotton,  are  wool,  hides 
and  peltries,  grain  and  flour,  sugar,  cot- 
ton oil,  cake  and  meal. 

The  estimated  business  of  the  city, 
founded  upon  these  items,  is  cotton, 
$50,000,000;  jobbing  lines,  $25,000,000; 
retail  trade,  $1,500,000;  manufactures, 
$10,000,000;  building  improvements  and 
public  works,  like  the  jetties,  water 
works,  etc.,  $2,500,000;  real  estate 
and  miscellaneous,  $1,000,000;  goods  in 
transit,  westrbound,  $7,500,000;  total, 
$100,000,000.  This  is  an  under,  rather 
than  an  over  estimate. 

The  trade  territory  of  Galveston  is 
described  in  the  chapters  concerning  her 
transportation  and  maritime  interests.  It 
is  continuously  extending.  Galveston 
has  a  larger  business  with  New  York  on 
the  one  hand,  and  San  Francisco  on  the 
other  than  any  Southern  city,  New  Orleans 
excepted.  It  has  a  very  considerable 
Mexican  trade.  It  is  a  convenient  point 
for  foreign  shipping  returning  homeward 
from  the  ports  of  the  Gulf  and  South 
America,  and  seeking  cargo.  It  is  the 
only  port  of  Texas,  and  of  all  the  great 
West  back  of  it  to  the  West,  Northwest 
and  Southwest.  It  has  competitive  freight 
rates  in  its  systems  of  transportation  by 
land  and  water.  It  has  more  manufac- 
tures than  any  city  of  the  State  to  give  its 
mercantile  business  variety  and  stability. 
It  is  a  wealthy  city,  with  the  resources 
within  itself  to  continue  its  advancement. 

THE    LEADING   JOBBING    HOUSES. 

P.  J.  WILLIS  &  BRO.,  cotton  factors  and 
importers  of  and  wholesale  dealers  in  gro- 
ceries, dry  goods,  notions,  dress  goods, 
boots  and  shoes  and  hats,  is  the  oldest  and 


foremost  house  of  Galveston  ;  and  in  the 
matter  of  aggregate  business,  stock  carried 
and  general  resources,  has  few,  if  any, 
rivals  in  its  trade  territory,  Texas,  Louis- 
iana, Indian  Territory,  Arkansas  and 
Mexico. 

It  was  established  in  1839,  when  Galves- 
ton was  hardly  more  than  an  outpost  of 
the  great  commercial  world.  The  re- 
sources for  its  foundation  here  were  com- 
pacted at  different  points  in  the  interior, 
and  the  soHd  fabric  of  a  metropolitan 
enterprise  was  raised  here  with  them  in 
1867,  by  P.  J.  and  R.  S.  Willis.  In  that, 
the  developmental  stage  in  the  history  of 
this  trade  center — for  the  city,  while  the 
first  in  Texas  was  yet  somewhat  obscure — 
the  business  of  the  house  naturally  was 
restricted ;  but  it  grew  apace  with  the 
country  looking  to  Galveston  as  a  market, 
and  not  many  years  later  was  recognized 
in  New  Orleans,  then  the  undisputed  mis- 
tress of  the  Gulf,  as  a  strong  competitor 
of  many  of  the  largest  houses  of  that 
important  place.  Gradually  but  surely 
rising  among  these  and  other  rivals,  a 
position  was  attained  by  it  far  above  medi- 
ocrity and  for  years  it  has  sustained  the 
reputation  of  Galveston  over  a  wider  field 
than  any  of  the  local  mercantile  concerns. 

In  1873,  it  is  recorded,  P.  J.  Willis,  then 
senior  in  the  firm,  died,  and  his  children 
having  inherited  his  interest,  the  firm  was 
reconstructed.  R.  S.  Willis,  of  the  orig- 
inal firm,  P.  J.  Willis,  a  son  of  P.  J.  de- 
ceased, and  J.  G.  Goldthwate,  his  son-in- 
law,  are  the  partners  now.  The  estate  of 
Win.  H.  Willis,  who  died  May  i6th,  1888, 
also  holds  an  interest.  For  the  purpose 
of  perpetuating  the  name  and  business, 
the  partners  sometime  ago  concluded  to 
incorporate,  and  did  so  last  July,  under 
the  name  of  P.  J.  Willis  &  Bro.  No 
change  was  made,  however,  in  the  man- 
agement. The  same  capital  was  contin- 
ued in  the  business  and  the  direction  of 
affairs  remains  in  the  same  competent 
hands. 


THE   CITY   OF  GALVESTON. 


79 


Mr.  R.  S.  Willis  is  one  of  the  most 
respected  and  wealthiest  merchants  of  the 
city.  He  is  president  of  the  Galveston 
National  Bank,  a  reorganization  of  the 


of  Texas,  acquired  during  his  long  and 
successful  business  career.  The  other 
gentlemen  of  the  firm  also  have  solid 
resources  of  a  similar  character. 


old  Texas  Banking  &  Insurance  Company, 
and  has  large  interests  in  many  of  the 
most  important  financial  and  business 
enterprises  of  the  city.  He  owns  also 
real  estate  here  and  lands  in  various  parts 


The  firm  owns  the  block  occupied  by  it 
for  business  purposes,  the  Willis  buildings 
on  Strand,  two  connected  brick  structures 
covering  the  area  of  half  a  square,  one 
three  and  the  other  four  stories  high,  as 


80 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


represented  in  the  illustration  set  in  this 
matter.  This  property  is  situated  adja- 
cent to  the  central  railroad  depot  here, 
and  has  side  track  communication  with 
all  the  lines  that  terminate  here.  It  is  also 
close  to  the  wharves  and  ship  landings. 
The  various  floors  afford  100,000  square 
feet  of  storage  surface,  but  this  is  all  nec- 
essary, extraordinary  as  the  figures  seem, 
for  the  vast  and  valuable  stock  carried, 
comprising  in  the  greatest  fullness  and 
variety,  all  the  staples  and  many  special- 


ities are  superior  in  scope  and  in  detail  to 
those  afforded  by  any  house  of  the  South- 
west. 

MENSING  BROS.  &  Co.,  wholesale  gro- 
cers and  cotton  factors,  are  one  of  the 
firms  that  sustain,  by  an  annual  business 
closely  approaching  a  round  million  of 
transactions,  the  commercial  prestige  of 
Galveston.  Like  the  other  large  concerns 
of  the  city,  they  have  gi'own  from  small 
beginnings  with  the  development  of  the 
resources  of  the  city  and  State,  but  the 


MENSING   BROTHERS    &    COMPANY'S    PLACE. 


ties  of  the  lines  enumerated  at  the  begin- 
ning of  this  account. 

The  business  of  the  house  is  of  a  varied 
and  miscellaneous  character ;  but  it  is 
thoroughly  systematized  by  a  division  into 
departments,  and  is  conducted  with  a  per- 
fection of  method  unusual  except  to  houses 
long  established  and  as  affluent  as  this. 
The  advantage  of  doing  business  with 
such  a  house  is  evident — a  house  whose 
rating  is  the  highest  accorded  by  the  com- 
mercial agencies  ;  whose  lines  of  goods  are 
the  most  comprehensive,  and  whose  facil- 


position  they  occupy  in  the  trade  they  are 
classed  with,  is  largely,  as  it  always  is, 
the  result  of  their  own  diligence,  enter- 
prise and  good  management. 

The  partnership  of  Mensing  Bros.  & 
Co.  as  it  is  to-day,  is  the  succession  to  a 
consolidation  of  the  interests  of  two  old 
houses  here,  G.  H.  Mensing  &  Bro.  and 
Moore,  Stratton  &  Co.  made  in  1882. 
G.  H.  Mensing  £  Bro.  were  cotton  fac- 
tors only,  up  to  that  time,  while  Moore, 
Stratton  &  Co.  were  in  the  wholesale 
grocery  business.  The  consolidated 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


81 


house  was  known  for  two  years  as  Mens- 
ing,  Stratton  &  Co.,  but  when  Mr.  Strat- 
ton  withdrew  in  1885,  leaving  his  old 
associate,  Mr.  James  Moore,  in  company 
with  Mensing Brothers,  the  name  Mensing 
Bros.  &  Co.  was  permanently  adopted. 

Fully  $300,000  of  capital  is  embarked 
in  the  stock,  facilities  and  working  re- 
sources of  this  house.  It  has  five  men  on 
the  road  in  Texas.  It  handles  from 
8,000  to  12,000  bales  of  cotton  a  year.  It 
is  therefore  not  surprising  that  its  business 
rises  to  a  figure  between  three  quarters  ot  a 
million  and  a  million  dollars  in  the  grocery 
business  alone.  The  staples  of  the  grocery 
trade  are  all  handled  —  provisions,  coffee, 


State.  Mr.  G.  H.  Mensing  was  in  the 
cotton  trade  at  Brenham  before  he  came 
here ;  has  been  in  it,  in  fact,  since  1868. 
Mr.  Wm. Mensing  has  been  in  his  brother's 
company,  in  all  his  enterprises  since  1869. 
Their  place  of  business  is  corner  of  Strand 
and  Twenty-second.  An  illustration 
accompanying  this  matter  shows  its  ex- 
ternal appearance,  and  on  page  7  of  this 
work  is  a  picture  of  the  residence  of  the 
senior  member  of  the  firm. 

LEON  &  H.  BLUM,  importers  of  and 
wholesale  dealers  in  dry  goods,  notions, 
hats,  boots  and  shoes,  etc.,  corner  of 
Mechanic  and  Twenty-fourth  streets,  is  a 
house  sustaining  the  prestige  of  Galveston 


LEON    &    H.    BLUM'S   ESTABLISHMENT. 


sugar,  molasses  and  general  plantation  and 
farm  supplies  especially.  Some  wool  and 
hides  also  figure  in  the  firm's  transac- 
tions. 

The  burdens  of  management  are  divided 
between  the  partners  as  follows :  Mr.  G. 
H.  Mensing  attends  to  the  grocery  busi- 
ness, cotton  sales  and  to  affairs  on 
'Change,  Mr.  Wm.  E.  Mensing  to  the 
credits  and  office  details.  Mr.  G.  H.  Mens- 
ing is  president  of  one  of  the  local  com- 
press companies,  and  has  stock  in  a  num- 
ber of  profitable  enterprises  ;  and  so  also 
has  his  brother.  Mensing  Bros,  are  of 
German  derivation  and  were  raised  in  this 


as  a  trade  center,  in  the  full  extent  of  the 
city's  tributary  territory.  It  is  a  house 
carrying  a  stock  invoiced  at  $750,000  to 
$1,000,000  in  the  aggregate,  and  doing  a 
business  upwards  of  $5,000,000  in  volume 
a  year,  throughout  all  the  States  of  the 
Southwest,  and  also  in  Mexico.  It  has  an 
organization  perfected  during  over  thirty 
years  of  successful  business,  and  employs 
some  ninety  persons  in  the  house  as  sales- 
men, clerks,  porters,  etc.,  and  about  thirty 
more  as  traveling  men.  Its  system  of 
management  is  one  of  many  departments, 
any  one  of  which  does  the  business  of  an 
ordinary  house,  each  having  its  buyer  and 


82 


THE   CITY  OF  GALVESTOK 


each  conducted  separately,  but  the  whole 
under  the  direction  of  an  experienced 
general  manager  and  assistant  to  the 
principals,  Messrs.  Leon  and  Hyman 
Blum,  gentlemen  known,  by  the  import- 
ant character  of  their  enterprises,  invest- 
ments and  resources,  not  only  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  Texas  but  in  all 
the  great  markets  of  the  country  in  which 
the  lines  they  handle  originate.  They 
have  intimate  relations  with  the  manufac- 
turers of  these  lines  and  can  sell  on  the 
closest  margins,  and  the  big  stocks  they 
carry  make  them  largely  independent  of 
ordinary  fluctuations. 

A.  Blum,  an  elder  brother  of  the  part- 
ners, now  some  years  deceased,  and  Leon 
Blum,  senior  member  of  the  firm,  laid  the 
foundations  of  this  extraordinary  business 
before  the  war.  In  1865  the  firm  name, 
Leon  &  H.  Blum,  was  adopted.  The  part- 
ners then  were  Leon,  Hyman  and  Sylvain 
Blum,  to  whom  Leon  and  Hyman  Blum 
succeeded  later.  Messrs.  Leon  and  H. 
Blum  are  bank  directors,  stockholders  in 
the  most  important  concerns  of  Galveston, 
large  tax  payers  on  realty  in  the  city  and 
the  controlling  spirits  in  the  Leon  &  H. 
Blum  Land  Co.,  which  is  capitalized  to 
the  exten't  of  $1,000,000  and  has  nearly 
1,000,000  acres  of  lands  in  Texas  and 
other  parts  of  the  Southwest  for  sale. 

The  premises  occupied  by  this  house 
are  a  sufficient  indication,  without  further 
illustration,  of  the  business  they  do.  They 
own  and  use  the  whole  of  a  three-story 
block,  150  feet  by  250,  situated  on 
Mechanic  street  and  fronting  at  the  corner 
of  Twenty-fourth.  The  various  floors  of 
this  main  building  afford  112,500  square 
feet  of  surface,  and  a  warehouse  addi- 
tional increases  this  area  to  125,000  square 
feet.  Goods  and  merchandise  occupy  all 
this  available  area,  and  they  frequently 
have  enough  purchased  and  in  transit  to 
fill  another  establishment  like  it.  As  these 
structures  were  built  to  the  order  of  the 
firm,  they  are  especially  adapted  to  the 


business  and  aie  admirably  lighted  and 
ventilated.  To  an  experienced  e\^e  the 
place  presents  the  appearance  of  a  vast 
emporium  or  magasin,  a  model  of  its 
kind.  From  it  a  legion  of  country  trades- 
men are  furnished  with  complete  stocks 
of  the  goods  dealt  in,  and  many  of  the 
jobbers  of  the  State  look  to  it  for  their 
entire  supply.  Offices  are  maintained  for 
purchasing  and  financial  purposes  at  123 
Duane  street,  New  York  (in  which  city 
Mr.  Hyman  Blum  resides),  and  at  no 
Summer  street,  Boston.  It  has  been 
called  the  representative  house  of  its  kind 
in  Texas,  and  the  phrase,  hackneyed  as  it 
is  by  frequent  application,  is,  in  this 
instance,  no  misnomer. 

Leon  Blum,  the  head  of  the  house,  is 
largely  engaged  in  prosecution  of  outside 
affairs,  in  which  he  has  investments,  and 
much  of  his  time  is  therefore  busily  occu- 
pied. He  has,  however,  found  leisure  for 
a  labor  of  pride  with  him,  namely,  the 
advancement  of  the  commercial  interests 
of  the  port,  as  they  are  bound  up  in  the 
agitation  for  deep  water.  He  has  con- 
tributed both  time  and  money  to  this  work 
and  has  been  the  representative  of  the  city 
at  Washington  when  bills  were  under  dis- 
cussion ;  and  at  the  two  Inter-State  Con- 
ventions which  have  been  pressing  the 
matter  upon  Congress  with  greater  assur- 
ance of  immediate  action  than  at  any 
period  of  the  movement.  His  weight  and 
influence  have  been  actively  exerted 
indeed  in  every  public  matter  that  could 
possibly  benefit  Galveston.  Mr.  A.  Fer- 
rier,  long  with  the  house  in  a  confidential 
capacity,  assists  him  in  its  management. 

THE  LEON  &  H.  BLUM  LAND  Co., 
which  has  holdings  in  half  the  counties  of 
Texas,  was  incorporated  in  1882,  with 
$1.000,000  capital.  Leon  Blum,  of  Leon 
&  H.  Blum,  the  largest  dry  goods  mer- 
chants of  the  Southwest,  is  its  president ; 
S.  Blum,  vice-president,  and  A.  Ferrier, 
secretary  and  treasurer.  It  has  its  offices 
at  the  Galveston  establishment  of  the  firm 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


83 


of  Leon  &  H.  Blum,  corner  of  Mechanic 
and  Twenty-fourth  streets. 

The  lands  of  this  company  to  the  extent 
of  a  million  acres  nearly,  all  told,  are 
held  for  sale  in  tracts  of  one  acre  to  150,- 
ooo.  They  are  improved,  some  of  them, 
and  others  unimproved.  The  company 
deals  in  stock  ranches  largely,  with  and 
without  cattle.  It  is  the  largest  in  capital- 
ization, resources  and  transactions,  of  the 
land  and  cattle  companies  of  Texas. 

WAI.LIS,  LANDES  &  Co.,  wholesale 
grocers,  importers  of  liquors,  cigars, 
tobacco,  woodenware,  etc.,  and  cotton 
factors,  Strand,  between  Twenty-fourth 
and  Twenty-fifth,  are  remarkable,  not 
merely  for  the  business  the  house  does 
(variously  estimated  at  from  $1,500,000  to 
$2,000,000  a  year),  but  as  much  for  their 
long  establishment,  high  standing  and 
rating,  and  solid  resources.  Scarcely  an 
enterprise  of  the  city  but  they  have  stock  in 
and  in  many  of  them  they  have  very  large 
interests  indeed.  The  house  was  estab- 
lished at  the  close  of  the  war,  in  which 
all  the  founders  of  it  had  actively  partici- 
pated. The  original  firm  had  for  its  prin- 
cipals J.  C.  and  J.  E.  Wallis  and  H.  A. 
Landes.  The  last  and  second  named  are 
survivors  of  that  original  partnership. 
J.  C.  Wallis  died  in  1872,  and  in  1882 
Charles  L.  Wallis,  son  of  J.  E.,  was 
admitted  to  an  interest. 

Five  traveling  men  sell  for  this  house 
and  solicit  consignments  of  cotton  in  very 
nearly  all  of  Texas,  and  in  Western  Lou- 
isiana. The  house  handles  all  the  staples 
of  the  grocery  trade,  and  receives  from 
eight  to  twelve  thousand  bales  of  cotton 
a  year.  It  is  said  to  be  the  oldest  house 
of  its  line,  that  is  to  say,  longest  estab- 
lished and  in  continuous  business,  here. 
It  has  large  dealings  in  Texas  lands  as 
well  as  cotton. 

The  senior  partner,  Mr.  J.  E.  Wallis 
has  been  a  resident  of  Texas  nearly  all 
his  life.  It  is  now  some  forty-two  years 
since  he  first  came  here.  He  was  a  store- 


keeper before  the  war,  in  the  country.  He 
is  the  president  of  the  National  Bank  of 
Texas,  is  vice-president  and  one  of  the 
largest  stockholders  in  the  Galveston  and 
Western  Railway,  the  narrow  gauge  road 
on  the  Island,  is  a  large  stockholder  in 
the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe  Rail- 
road, director  of  the  City  Company 
(ah-eady  referred  to  in  this  work),  direc- 
tor also  of  the  Gulf  Cotton  Press  Co. 
and  of  the  Texas  Banking  and  Insurance 
Co.,  and  with  his  partner,  is  a  large  holder 
of  stock  in  the  new  cotton  mills  and  can- 
ning factory  and  the  Galveston  Twine  & 
Cordage  Co. 

Mr.  Landes  is  a  director  of  the  Texas 
Land  &  Loan  Co.,  the  Galveston  Real 
Estate  &  Loan  Co.,  the  Galveston  Can- 
ning &  Packing  Co.,  the  Galveston  Cord- 
age and  Twine  Co.,  and  is  interested  in 
numerous  other  concerns  of  a  like  char- 
acter. 

THE  TEXAS  CO-OPERATIVE  ASSOCIA- 
TION, an  organization  auxiliary  in  purpose, 
and  allied  to  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry  of 
the  State  by  mutual  membership  relations, 
but  operated  as  a  business  enterprise  inde- 
pendent of  the  "  grange,"  has  very  large 
stores  here  at  the  corner  of  Strand  and 
Twentieth  street,  and  having  been  nearly 
twelve  years  established  is  widely  known 
by  its  trade  in  nearly  all  the  Lone  Star 
State.  This  Association  has  been  incor- 
porated and  $75,000  of  its  authorized 
capital  stock  of  $100,000,  has  been  paid 
in.  The  officers  of  the  Association  are 
R.  E.  Steele  of  Cotton  Gin,  president; 
A.  J.  Rose,  of  Salado,  master  of  the 
State  Grange  of  Texas  (president  also 
of  the  Texas  State  Grange  Fair,  and  of  the 
Texas  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Co.  P.  of 
H  ),  secretary;  J.  W.  Waltmann,  farmer 
and  store-keeper  of  Jewett,  treasurer,  and 
J.  S.  Rogers  (treasurer  of  the  Grange 
Fair  Association  and  secretary  and  treas- 
urer of  the  Grange  Insurance  Co.),  man- 
ager. Mr.  Rogers  has  been  manager  of 
the  stores  here  for  about  ten  years,  and 


84 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


much  of  the  success  which  has  been  met 
with,  is  unquestionably  due  to  his  dili- 
gence and  capacity. 

The  Association  does  a  wholesale  busi- 
ness in  groceries,  dry  goods,  notions,  boots 
and  shoes  and  hats,  a  cotton  factorage  and 
commission  business, — general  merchan- 
dising in  fact, — and  has  transactions 
aggregating  for  the  year,  between  $300,- 
ooo  and  $350,000.  Its  plan  and  system 
of  purchase  and  sales,  the  co-operative 
feature — have  been  found  entirely  practi- 
cal ;  the  success  of  the  institution  is  suf- 
ficient proof  of  that.  It  began  with  the 
exceedingly  modest  capital  of  $265,  and 
for  a  long  time  the  business  done  by  it 
was  quite  moderate,  but  it  has  now  a 
working  capital  of  $100,000,  a  stock  on 
hand  of  groceries  and  dry  goods  and  com- 
modities of  these  two  classes,  valued  at 
$92.219,  and,  as  has  been  said,  an  annual 
business  that  compares  favorably  with 
that  of  the  largest  houses  here  located. 
The  profits  of  $310,000  business  in  1889 
were  such  that  the  directors  have  ordered 
a  sum  set  apart  for  a  building  fund.  The 
Association  has  now  nearly  700  members, 
Patrons  of  Husbandry  in  the  State,  and 
although  its  customers  are  almost  entirely 
of  that  order,  sales  are  frequently  made 
to  others. 

Mr.  Rogers  has  been  connected  with  the 
Grange  movement  from  its  inception. 
He  was  one  of  the  first  Southwestern 
organizers  of  that  potential  body  which 
now  has  its  ramifications  in  every  State, 
and  he  had  charge  of  the  first  grange 
store  opened  in  Texas.  He  came  here 
from  Red  River  county  about  ten  years 
ago.  The  Texas  Mutual  Fire  Insurance 
Co.,  of  which  he  is  also  manager,  has  re- 
duced its  limit  of  risks  and  is  issuing  its 
certificates  of  membership  every  day.  All 
premiums  paid  this  company  not  con- 
sumed by  losses,  revert  to  the  insurer 
under  certain  conditions,  and  assist  him  in 
continuing  his  insurance. 

The     advantage    of    the    co-operative 


method  of  business,  no  longer  needs  de- 
monstration. It  has  been  illustrated  in 
numerous  callings,  in  some  instances  as 
the  voluntary  proposal  of  employers. 
It  has  lately  been  attracting  more  than 
ordinary  attention  as  a  remedy  for  many 
defects  of  prevailing  industrial  conditions. 
The  trusts  even  have  grasped  and  applied 
some  of  its  most  strengthening  and  effec- 
tive features  ;  and  since  it  has  exemplifi- 
cation in  this  very  venture  of  the  Patrons 
of  Husbandry,  the  farmer  of  Texas  has  the 
point,  the  "  nub,"  and  the  gist  of  the  whole 
argument  for  it,  clearly  presented  to  him. 
The  Texas  Co-operative  Association  is 
not  engaged  in  any  propaganda  of  princi- 
ples or  aims ;  it  is  a  business  concern, 
organized  by  business  men,  for  business 
purposes ;  and  is  run  as  only  such  estab- 
lishments can  be,  on  strictly  business  prin- 
ciples. 

WEIS  BROS.,  leading  wholesale  dealers 
in  and  importers  of  staple  and  fancy  dry 
goods,  boots,  shoes,  notions,  hats,  trunks, 
etc.,  in  the  substantial  brick  structure  at 
62  to  70  Strand  (old  numbers),  do  a  busi- 
ness of  metropolitan  character  and  pro- 
portions. They  carry  a  stock  of  goods 
valued  at  $500,000  to  $600,000,  have  ten 
traveling  men  selling  for  them,  besides 
twenty-five  salesmen  and  clei'ks  here,  and 
dispose  of  $800,000  to  $1,000,000  worth 
of  goods  a  year,  chiefly  in  Texas,  but  con- 
siderable also  in  Louisiana  and  Arkansas. 
They  have  offices  and  the  various  lines  of 
dry  goods  on  the  first  floor,  notions  and 
furnishing  goods  on  the  second,  boots, 
shoes  and  hats  on  the  third  and  fourth, 
and  a  surplus  stock  in  a  warehouse  in  the 
rear. 

This  house  has  been  well  known  in 
years  past  as  Halff,  Weis  &  Co.,  whole- 
sale clothing  and  gents'  furnishing  goods 
dealers,  established  in  1872.  Mr.  Halff 
withdrew  from  the  original  partnership 
four  years  ago,  and  soon  after  a  change 
was  made  in  the  general  features  of  the 
business,  so  as  to  pursue  a  more  miscella- 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


85 


neons  trade  in  dry  goods  and  the  other 
lines  mentioned.  In  this  movement  Weis 
Bros,  were  only  keeping  abreast  of  the 
times,  and  wisely  adapting  their  business 
policy  to  the  changing  conditions  of  the 
trade  of  the  day.  They  have  always, 
indeed,  since  they  have  been  here,  ex- 
hibited intelligence  and  enterprising 
methods  of  business. 

The  successful  issue  of  their  venture  is 
indicated  by  the  number  of  other  concerns 
in  which  the  house,  or  the  partners  indi- 
vidually, are  interested.  Major  Weis, 
senior  member  of  the  firm,  is  president  of 
the  Citizens'  Loan  Company  of  this  city, 
president  of  the  Galveston  Water  Com- 
mission, president  also  of  the  Galveston 
Cotton  and  Woolen  Mills,  ex-president  of 
the  Island  City  Savings  Bank,  and  is  a 
director  of  the  First  National  Bank,  of  the 
Texas  Land  &  Loan  Co.  and  Galveston 
Canning  &  Packing  Co.  Mr.  R.  Weis 
also  has  interests  of  this  sort  that  are 
valuable.  He  is  the  credits  and  accounts 
man  of  the  firm;  Major  Weis,  the  mana- 
ger of  the  buying  and  sales  and  other  out- 
side details. 

Maj.  Weis  derives  his  title  from  service 
upon  Gen.  Oppenheimer's  staff,  Texas 
contingent  Confederate  service,  he  having 
abandoned  his  business  in  Oakland,  Col- 
orado county,  in  this  State,  to  enlist  with 
.the  San  Antonio  banker  and  merchant. 
In  1865,  he  returned  to  Oakland  and  re- 
embarked  in  business  as  one  of  the  firm  of 
Weis  &  Bock.  In  1867,  he  sold  out  to 
Bock  and  came  here,  and  was  a  partner  in 
Strauss  &  Co.,  cotton  and  merchandising, 
for  a  time,  and  until  he  and  his  brother 
bought  out  Strauss  and  effected  the  part- 
nership with  Halff.  His  brother  had 
been  with  him  in  Oakland  and  came  with 
him  here.  In  fact,  their  business  interests 
have  been  identical,  so  to  speak,  ever 
since  the  war. 

J.  ROSENFIELD  &  Co.  (J.  Rosenfield, 
the  Co.  being  nominal)  do  the  largest  bus- 
ness  of  any  house  here  engaged  in  notions 


WEIS  BROTHERS'  ESTABLISHMENT. 

and  fancy  goods  exclusivelv.  Mr.  Rosen- 
field  occupies  the  whole  of  one  building  on 
the  Strand,  between  Twenty-second  and 
Twenty-thii-d,  and  the  ground  floor  of 
anothei*,  with  as  varied  and  well  selected  a 
stock  of  notions,  fancy  goods,  ladies'  hats, 
stationery  and  toys,  as  the  original  markets 
from  which  such  supplies  are  drawn 
afford.  He  is  himself  an  expert  in  his 
business,  qualified  for  it  by  a  life-long 
service  in  it,  and  is  withal,  an  enterprising 
and  thorough  manager,  giving  all  his  time 
to  his  trade.  He  is  a  property  owner, 
vice-president  of  the  Citizens'  Loan  Co. 
and  is  a  stockholder  in  a  number  of  other 
enterprises  here. 

RICE,  BAULARD  &  Co.,  dealers  in  paints 
and  oils,  glass,  paper-hangings,  etc.,  con- 
tracting painters  and  manufacturers  of 
paints,  at  77  Tremont  street,  do  the  largest 
business  in  their  line  and  are  unquestion- 
ably the  oldest  house  of  the  kind  in  the 


86 


THE   CITY   OF  GALVESTON. 


State.  It  was  established  by  Jos.  W. 
Rice,  who  came  to  Galveston  soon  after 
its  foundation,  fifty  years  ago,  and  who  is 
still  actively  engaged  in  the  business.  He 
is  the  oldest  merchant,  both  in  years  and 
length  of  service,  in  fact,  of  Galveston — 
the  patriarch  of  the  business  commu- 
nity, esteemed  generally  for  a  business 
record  without  a  blemish  and  for  the 
strength  and  integrity  of  his  personal 
character. 

Mr.  Rice  began  business  here  as  a  mas- 
ter painter.  The  late  Victor  J.  Baulard 
was  apprenticed  to  -him  about  forty-five 
years  ago,  and  in  1850  they  founded  the 


RICE,  BAULARD    &    COMPANY'S    PLACE. 

house  of  Rice  &  Baulard,  which  was 
engaged  in  jobbing  and  in  painting  con- 
tracts, before  the  war.  About  twenty  years 
ago  Mr.  Geo.  W.  Outterside,  Mr.  Rice's 
partner  now,  engaged  with  the  firm  of 
Rice  &  Baulard,  and  was  admitted  to  an 
interest  in  1881.  Mr.  Baulard  died  in 
October,  1889,  and  his  interest  is  still  held 
by  his  widow.  Mr.  Rice  gives  affairs  a 
general  supervision,  and  Mr.  Outterside 
manages  the  outside  affairs  and  does 
the  buying. 

They   handle  painters'  supplies  of  all 
kinds,  paper  hangings  and  window  shades, 


and  are  agents  for  the  sale  of  such  stand- 
ard materials  as  Collier's,  the  Southern  Co. 
and  Carter's  white  lead,  Devoe's  artists' 
materials,  Johnson's  kalsomine,  and  var- 
nishes. Glass  is  a  specialty  with  them,  and 
they  carry  a  large  stock  of  it.  They  for- 
merly manufactured  paints  with  machin- 
ery, as  the  Galveston  Paint  Co.,  and  still 
employ  about  ten  or  a  dozen  hands  on 
painting  work  in  the  city.  They  carry  a 
$35,000  stock  and  have  business  in  both 
Texas  and  Louisiana. 

F.  CANNON  &  Co.,  Strand,  between 
Twenty-third  and  Twenty-fourth,  are  a 
leading  importing  and  commission  house 
of  Galveston.  They  have  now  been  about 
three  years  established.  They  are  import- 
ers of  coffee  and  general  commission  mer- 
chants for  the  sale  of  sugar,  molasses, 
flour,  grain,  provisions,  bagging  and  ties, 
etc. 

HAWLEY  &  HEIDENHEIMER,  importers 
of  coffee  and  salt,  corner  of  Twenty- 
fourth  and  Strand,  do  a  very  large  busi- 
ness. They  are  in  regular  receipt  of 
cargoes  from  Liverpool,  Rio  and  Mexican 
ports,  and  they  do  a  big  trade  also  in 
sugar.  Their  sales  are  car  lots  altogether, 
made  to  dealers  in  all  parts  of  Texas  and 
the  trade  territory  of  Galveston. 

Mr.  R.  B.  Hawley  of  the  firm,  has 
been  prominent  as  a  merchant  here  for  the 
last  ten  years.  He  was  a  delegate,  rep- 
resenting the  city,  at  the  recent  session  of 
the  Inter-State  Deep  Harbor  convention, 
held  at  Topeka,  Kansas,  and  he  gives  an 
active  support  to  all  measures  calculated 
to  forward  the  interests  of  the  port  of 
Galveston.  Mr.  Heidenheimer  was  for- 
merly of  Heidenheimer  Bros.,  wholesale 
grocers,  and  is  still  one  of  Heidenheimer 
&  Co.,  their  successors.  He  is  a  man  of 
wealth,  the  owner  of  lands  and  property 
in  the  State,  and  has  been  a  notable  fig- 
ure in  the  business  community  for  over 
thirty  years. 

M.  M.  LEVY,  importer  of  coffee,  man- 
ufacturers' agent  and  merchandise  broker, 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


87 


Strand,  between  Twenty-fourth  and 
Twenty-fifth,  is  the  sole  representative 
here  for  a  number  of  the  leading  grocery, 
canning  and  specialty  houses  of  the  coun- 
try, and  does  perhaps  the  largest  business 
as  a  merchandise  broker  in  Galveston. 
His  transactions  in  coffee,  are  however, 
a  more  important  feature  of  his  trade. 
He  handled  last  year  of  the  Mexican  and 
Brazilian  berry  many  thousands  of  bags, 
and  had  miscellaneous  business  transac- 
tions to  a  notable  amount.  He  supplies 
a  State  as  well  as  Galveston  patronage, 
and  nearly  all  the  jobbing  houses  of  this 
city  and  Houston  are  his  patrons. 

Mr.  Levy  is  a  New  Yorker  by  birth  and 
was  a  merchant  in  Mexico  for  some  years 
before  he  settled  here  in  1879.  He  was 
one  of  the  firm  of  Uedemann  &  Levy 
in  1880,  afterward  Levy  &  Coutant,  but 
for  the  last  five  years  has  been  doing  busi- 
ness for  his  own  account  solely.  He  has 
intelligent  and  experienced  assistance  in 
his  office  work  and  also  on  the  street. 

J.  W.  COUTANT,  manufacturers'  agent 
of  this  city,  with  offices  on  Strand  between 
Twenty-first  and  Twenty-second,  repre- 
sents a  number  of  houses  each  of  which  is 
the  recognized  leader  of  its  line.  Among 
these  are  the  Samuel  CupplesWoodenware 
Co.  and  the  Diamond  Match  Co.  of  St. 
Louis  ;  James  S.  Kirk  &  Co.,  laundry  and 
toilet  soaps,  Chicago ;  H.  M.  Anthony 
of  New  York,  "  Sterling  "  ball  potash  and 
Horsford's  bread  preparations ;  E.  R. 
Durkee  &  Co.,  New  York,  spices  and 
extracts  ;  John  Dwight  &  Co. ,  New  York, 
bi-carbonate  of  soda,  Atmore  &  Co., 
Philadelphia,  mince  meats ;  Corning  & 
Co.,  Peoria,  111.,  whiskies;  the  Peoria 
Grape  Sugar  Co.,  glucose;  Powell  & 
Smith,  New  York,  fine  cigars ;  L.  Pickert 
&  Co..  Boston,  mackerel;  Justin  J.  Lan- 
gles  &  Co.,  New  Orleans,  crackers; 
Henry  Verhage,  Vienna  and  ham  sausage, 
Cincinnati. 

Mr.  Coutant  has  been  in  this  business 
ever  since  he  came  here,  some  ten  years 


ago.  He  sells  to  the  Galveston  jobbers 
only,  and  carries  a  sample  stock  of  these 
various  lines  here.  He  is  unquestionably 
a  leading  merchandise  broker  of  the 
city. 

RATTO,  LANG  &  WEINBERGER,  67  and 
69  Strand,  between  Twenty-fourth  and 
Twenty-fifth,  were  established  last  April 
by  a  consolidation  of  two  old  houses, 
Lang  &  Weinberger  and  T.  Ratto  &  Co. , 
both  of  whom  had  been  fifteen  or  twenty 
years  in  business  here.  This  combination 
makes  one  of  the  strongest  houses,  if  not 
the  strongest  of  its  line,  in  the  State  of 
Texas. 

The  new  establishment  is  engaged  in 
the  same  lines  conducted  by  these  parties 
before  they  came  together,  viz.,  general 
commission  trade  in  fruit,  produce  and 
cigars,  wholesale  groceries,  and  the  man- 
ufacture of  confectionery.  Four  traveling 
men  are  maintained  on  the  road,  and  thir- 
ty-one employes  are  engaged  altogether, 
most  of  them  in  the  manufacture  of  stick 
and  mixed  candies,  carried  on  upon  the 
third  floor  of  the  firm's  place  of  business. 
The  sales  being  made  comprehend  a 
somewhat  larger  trade  territory  than  most 
of  the  business  concerns  here  attempt  to 
cover,  viz.,  Texas,  Kansas,  Indian  Terri- 
tory, and  from  Louisiana  eastward  to  Key 
West,  but  this  expansion  is  justified  by 
the  enlarged  prospects  of  the  house  since 
the  union. 

The  street  floor  of  this  establishment  is 
that  upon  which  general  sales  are  made 
and  bulk  goods  handled  ;  the  second  holds 
a  stock  of  cigars  and  confectionery ;  the 
third,  as  has  been  said,  is  the  candy  fac- 
tory. The  house  already  does  the  bulk  of 
the  tropical  fruit  trade  of  the  city,  and  it 
has  large  orders  for  its  specialty,  the  well 
known  "Eagle"  brand  of  stick  candy. 

Mr.  Ratto  of  the  firm,  is  of  Italian 
birth,  but  was  raised  in  Memphis,  and  has 
been  a  merchant  and  manufacturer  of 
candy  here  for  twenty  years.  He  will 
give  especial  attention  to  the  candy  trade 


88 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTOK 


of  the  house.  Mr.  Lang  came  here  after 
he  had  sei'ved  his  four  years  in  the  war  as 
a  Confederate  soldier,  and  has  been  in  the 
line  he  follows  now,  ever  since  he  settled 
here.  He  will  give  the  fruit  and  produce 
trade  of  the  house  supervision.  Mr. 
Weinberger  came  here  from  Austin  in 
1873.  He  had  been  in  the  business  there, 
and  embarked  in  it  with  Mr.  Lang  here  in 
1879.  The  office,  credits  and  accounts  are 
his  department.  All  three  own  property 
here  and  have  a  solid  stake  in  the  com- 
munity. Mr.  Weinberger  is  a  director 
of  the  People's  Loan  and  Homestead 
Association  and  of  the  Island  City  Sav- 
ings Bank. 

J.  B.  AGUILO  &  Co.,  general  commis- 
sion merchants,  importers  of  foreign  and 
dealers  in  domestic  fruits  and  in  Western 
produce,  and  wholesale  grocers,  at  212  and 
214  Strand,  do  a  very  large  city  business 
(probably  $85,000  a  year),  and  have  con- 
siderable patronage  in  the  country  also. 
They  make  a  specialty  of  the  trade  in  but- 
ter and  cheese,  car-load  lots  of  apples, 
potatoes,  etc.,  in  their  season,  and  are 
usually  stocked  up  to  the  extent  of  ten  or 
fifteen  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  all  the 
lines  they  handle.  Mr.  Aguilo,  senior 
member  of  the  firm,  manages  the  business 
generally,  and  Mr.  C.  Fittger,  his  partner, 
goes  out  on  the  road  to  sell  the  country 
trade  and  to  solicit  consignments. 

Mr.  Aguilo  is  a  native  of  New  Orleans, 
but  has  lived  in  Galveston  since  his  child- 
hood. He  was  with  Seeligson  &  Co.  and 
Wallis  &  Landes,  leading  houses  here, 
before  he  went  into  business  for  himself, 
and  these,  with  Adoue  &  Lobit,  bankers, 
and  B.  O.  Bowers  &  Co.  of  New  York,  are 
the  firm's  references.  He  began  business 
here  as  one  of  the  firm  of  Wulf  &  Aguilo 
in  1883,  but  bought  out  Wulf  three  years 
after.  Mr.  Fittger  and  he  have  been  in 
partnership  now  about  a  year. 

Mr.  Aguilo  is  captain  of  the  Washing- 
ton Guards,  one  of  the  crack  militia  com- 
panies of  the  State.  Mr.  Fittger  is  a 


native  of  the  city  and  has  been  with   Mr. 
Aguilo  from  his  boyhood. 

THE  J.  S.  BROWN  HARDWARE  Co.,  the 
largest  in  resources  and  trade  and  most 
widely  known  of  Texas  hardware  houses, 
presents,  in  every  feature,  the  characteris- 
tics of  a  house  of  the  highest  order.  It 
has  been  forty-three  years  established  and 
does  a  business  of  $1,000,000  a  year,  has 
an  office  in  New  York  city,  for  purchase 
of  its  stock;  handles  the  fullest  lines  of 
any  concern  competing  with  it  in  its  trade 
territory ;  and  has  all  the  resources  to 
continue  it  in  its  lead.  Its  founder,  Mr. 
J.  M.  Brown,  the  longest  experienced,  if 
not  the  oldest  merchant  of  Galveston, 
still  survives  and  shares  in  its  manage- 
ment, but  his  son,  Mr.  J.  S.  Brown,  is  the 
executive  head  of  it.  It  has  increased  its 
capital  stock  largely  since  the  incorpora- 
tion of  the  stock  company  to  conduct  the 
business  in  1885. 

The  stock  carried  by  this  house  com- 
prises shelf  and  builders'  hardware  of  all 
sorts,  carriage  makers'  materials,  sad- 
dlery hardware,  tools  of  all  kinds,  agri- 
cultural implements  and  wagons,  barb 
wire,  powder  and  shot,  rubber  and  leathei 
belting,  the  Anchor  brand  of  nails, 
Disston's  saws,  Howe  and  Fairbank's 
scales  and  wares  of  every  sort  commer- 
cially classed  as  hardware.  These  are 
supplied  it  by  direct  importations,  by 
purchase  from  the  manufacturers,  or  by 
its  New  York  buyer,  Mr.  Le  Count, 
located  at  82  Stewart  building,  and  they 
fill  here,  the  main  building  of  the  firm 
having  a  block  front  .on  one  street  by  120 
on  the  other  and  a  warehouse  opposite 
besides,  larger  premises  than  those  of  any 
hardware  house  south  of  Mason  &  Dixon's 
line.  The  offices  of  the  house  are  in  its 
larger  establishment,  corner  of  Strand  and 
Tremont  street.  Altogether  31,000  square 
feet  of  floor  service  is  occupied  for  sales, 
departments. 

The  J.  S.  Brown  Hardware  Co.  has 
six  traveling  men  out.  They  sell  every- 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


89 


where  in  Texas,  and  also  in  Western 
Louisiana.  It  has  twenty  employes  here. 
J.  M.  Brown  is  its  president ;  J.  S. 
Brown  vice-president.  The  former  is 
emphatically,  as  a  business  man,  self- 
made.  He  began  business  here  when 
Galveston  was  an  insignificant  place,  and 
he  has  grasped  all  the  possibilities  that 
were  unfolded  in  his  pursuit,  by  its 
growth.  He  has  been  a  busy  man,  but 
he  has  still  found  time  for  other  invest- 
ments, and  is  a  large  owner  in  many  of 
the  local  enterprises.  His  residence  here 


streets.  The  five  views  accompanying 
this  matter  illustrate  the  interior  arrange- 
ments and  very  complete  appointments 
of  this  establishment.  On  the  first  floor 
the  retail  salesrooms  and  offices  cover 
44  by  1 20  feet.  These  departments  are 
handsomely  fitted  up  in  walnut,  with 
show  cases  for  musical  instruments  of 
every  description,  and  shelving  for  sheet 
music  and  musical  works  of  all  kinds. 
The  mail  order  department  is  also  on 
this  floor. 

The  second  floor  is  reached  bv  a  broad 


. 

General  Office  -  1st, Floor,  Entrance  fcZd.Sf' 


is  one  of  the  finest  examples  in  the  city, 
of  the  luxurious  old-fashioned  Southern 
home.  He  has  been  a  representative 
merchant  since  the  earliest  period  of 
Galveston's  real  development,  a  time 
antedating  the  war,  and  his  son  follows 
in  his  footsteps  in  patient  and  diligent 
attention  to  the  affaii's  of  the  solid  enter- 
prise which  the  elder  created,  but  to 
which  the  younger  is  as  much  devoted. 

THOMAS  GOGGAN  &  BRO.,  the  most 
notable  house  of  Texas  in  the  music  trade, 
have  their  headquarters  at  Galveston  in  a 
building  owned  by  them  and  situated 
corner  of  Market  and  Twenty-second 


and  elegantly  finished  staircase.  This 
department  is  devoted  exclusively  to  the 
display  of  the  stock  of  pianos  and  organs 
carried  by  the  house,  and  as  many  as  150 
instruments  can  frequently  be  seen  in  it, 
among  them  the  finest  Steinway,  Weber, 
Mathusek  and  Hale  pianos,  and  Mason  & 
Hamlin  and  Kimball  organs.  There  is 
an  apartment  on  this  floor  for  tuning  pur- 
poses, and  a  room  designed  for  the  use  of 
music  teachers  and  their  pupils.  Special 
attention  has  been  given  to  the  lighting 
and  ventilation  of  these  rooms. 

The  third  floor,  is  in  area,  the  same  as 
the  rest,  but  it  is  divided  into  three  rooms,. 


90 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


Music  and  General  Retai  Salesroom 


two  of  them  20  by  70  feet  each.  One  of 
these  is  utilized  for  the  storage  of  the  very 
complete  wholesale  stock  of  musical 
wares,  merchandise  and  instruments  of 
the  house.  Another,  as  the  engraving 
shows,  is  the  workshop  of  the  house,  the 
most  thoroughly  equipped  in  the  South. 
All  the  tools  used  in  the  craft  have  been 


provided  for  it,  and  a  supply  of  everything 
necessary  for  the  repair  of  pianos,  organs 
and  other  instruments,  is  kept  on  hand  in 
it.  A  corps  of  skilled  workmen  is 
engaged  in  it  the  year  round.  The 
remainder  of  this  floor  is  reserved  for 
bulky  goods,  packing  cases,  etc. 

The  building  is  of    brick,  substantially 


Piano  and  Or£an  Wareroom     2.*  Floor. 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


91 


built  by  the  firm,  expressly  for  the  busi- 
ness they  do.  It  has  its  elevator,  water 
cisterns,  and  every  modern  appliance  to 
facilitate  trade.  The  house  has  been 
engaged  in  business  here  for  nearly  twen- 
ty-five years,  and  since  it  was  first  estab- 
lished has  survived  no  less  than  fifteen 
competitors.  It  has  successivelv  estab- 


lished branches  at  Houston,  San  Antonio, 
Waco,  Austin  and  other  thriving  cities  of 
Texas,  and  has  acquired  prestige  among 
the  music  houses  of  the  South.  Its  name 
is  a  guarantee  for  the  instruments  sold  by 
it,  for  its  policy  has  been  to  recommend 
them  for  just  what  they  are.  Sales  are 
made  by  it,  either  for  cash  or  on  easy 


3rd. Floor-Work  Shop  aad  General  Repairing  Roonx 


92 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


terms,  as  low  as  by  any  house  North  or 
South. 

W.  H.  POLLARD  &  Co.,  Water  street, 
Brick  levee,  foot  of  Nineteenth  street,  are 
importers  direct  and  dealers  in  masons' 
and  plasterers'  material,  nine  years  estab- 
lished. Mr.  Pollard  started  with  a  part- 
ner, but  about  four  years  ago  bought  him  . 
out,  continuing,  however,  under  the  old 
firm  name.  He  has  had  a  successful 
experience  in  the  business  and  is  now  ex- 
tending his  field  as  fast  as  circumstances 


in  lime,  cement,  sidewalk  and  ornamen- 
tal tiling,  fire  brick,  sand,  hair,  slate  roof- 
ing, drain  pipe,  soapstone  finish,  marble 
dust,  etc.  He  handles  first-class  materials 
only,  carries  a  large  stock  and  does  an 
excellent  business. 

He  hails  originally  from  Cornwall, 
England,  but  has  lived  here  since  1869 
and  was  first  engaged  in  market  garden- 
ing here.  A  few  years  after  his  arrival, 
however,  he  took  an  agency  for  Cedar 
Bayou  brick,  and  so  drifted  into  the  line 


w.  H.  POLLARD'S  BUILDING  MATERIAL  WAREHOUSE. 


will  permit,  into  the  West,  with'  which, 
relations,  fostered  by  now  mutually 
dependent  interests,  are  rapidly  being 
cemented.  His  location  is  unexcelled 
here  for  shipping  and  receiving  purposes. 
He  is  at  the  wharf  where  cargoes  can  be 
discharged,  with  railroad  and  side  track 
immediately  adjoining,  where  ship  and 
rail,  in  fact,  meet. 

Mr.  Pollard  is  agent  for  Wright's  Cedar 
Bayou  brick,  the  best  building  brick  in 
this  market,  for  the  Dyckerhoff  and 
Wm.  Leavitt  &  Co.'s,  Castle  brand,  and 
other  Portland  cements  ;  is  a  large  dealer 


he  follows.  He  owns  property  here  and 
is  one  of  the  most  enterprising  business 
men  of  Galveston. 

A.  J.  PERKINS  &  Co.,  lumber  dealers, 
corner  of  Twenty-seventh  and  Strand,  do 
a  very  large  business  ;  are  one  of  the  most 
important  lumber  firms  of  the  State,  in 
fact.  Mr.  Perkins  is  a  storekeeper  of 
Lake  Charles,  La.,  and  is  also  interested 
in  the  saw  mill  of  Perkins  &  Miller,  from 
which  the  Galveston  yards  of  his  firm  are 
supplied  in  part.  The  firm  also  ovvn^  :m 
interest  in  a  logging  railroad  in  the  Lake 
Charles  district,  which  is  one  of  the  most 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


93 


productive  of  the  lumber  regions  of  the 
South.  Mr.  C.  H.  Moore,  the  resident 
and  managing  partner,  is  a  partner  in 
Lock,  Moore  &  Co.,  lumbermen  of  Lake 
Charles,  and  also  in  a  lumber  mill  at  Wal- 
lisville,  Texas.  Mr.  Perkins  is  a  wealthy 
man  and  devotes  himself  to  other  affairs 
in  which  he  has  money  invested.  Mr. 
Moore  is  an  experienced  lumber  dealer, 
and  he  gives  an  almost  undivided  atten- 
tion to  the  concerns  of  A.  J.  Perkins  & 
Co.  here. 

He  is  a  man  of  high  standing  in  the 
community  and  is  a  stockholder  in  a  num- 
ber of  local  enterprises.  He  came  here 
from  California  in  1867,  and  was  at  first 
engaged,  for  several  years,  in  the  sash, 
door  and  blind  trade.  In  1878  his  place 
was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  he  afterwards 
was  a  partner  in  W.  F.  Stewart  &  Co.. 
lumber  dealers.  In  1881  he  severed  that 
connection  and  formed  a  partnership  with 
Mr.  Perkins.  They  formerly  handled 
sash,  doors,  blinds,  etc.,  but  now  deal 
only  in  lumber  and  shingles,  the  cut  of  the 
Lake  Charles  and  other  concerns  already 
mentioned. 

They  make  a  specialty  of  railroad  con- 
tracts and  are  shippers  to  Mexico  and  all 
along  the  Gulf  coast.  They  have  about 
$50,000  invested  in  their  business  here 
and  are  doing  about  $200,000  of  sales  a 
year.  They  employ  several  hundred  men 
in  the  various  enterprises  of  logging,  lum- 
bering, mills,  etc.  Their  yards  here  cover 
very  nearly  an  entire  block. 

BYRNE  &  JONES,  lumber  dealers,  hand- 
ling also  doors,  sash,  blinds  and  builders' 
hardware,  at  Twenty-ninth  and  Mechanic 
streets,  have  been  established  about  six 
years.  They  were  raised  in  the  business 
here  and  have  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
it.  Many  of  the  building  contractors  of 
the  city  are  their  customers  and  they  have 
quite  a  patronage  besides  in  different  pai'ts 
of  the  State,  chiefly  along  the  line  of  the 
railroads  running  out  from  here. 

The   partnei's   in   these   yards,   Messrs. 


J.  P.  Byrne  and  J.  C.  Jones,  are  natives  of 
the  city,  long  known  here  in  both  social 
and  business  circles.  They  are  progres- 
sive and  energetic,  and  their  house  is 
rising  in  importance  among  the  solid  con- 
cerns of  the  city.  Mr.  Byrne  attends  to 
all  the  outside  affairs  of  his  firm,  Mr. 
Jones  to  the  office,  finances  and  accounts. 

WM.  SCHADT,  dealer  in  doors,  sash, 
blinds,  mouldings,  stair  work,  builders' 
hardware,  paints,  oils,  etc.,  at  Mechanic 
and  Twenty-eighth  streets,  is  successor  to 
Wm.  F.  Stewart  &  Co.,  a  house  of  the 
same  character  established  in  1874.  He 
was  himself  formerly  engaged  in  the 
lumber  business  here,  and  in  1888  he 
bought  out,  besides  Stewart  &  Co.,  the 
sash  and  blind  business  of  A.  J.  Perkins 
&  Co.,  and  of  Byrne  &  Jones.  At  the 
same  time,  he  sold  Byrne  &  Jones  his 
lumber  business.  He  began  here  in  the 
lumber  and  building  materials  trade,  in 
1868,  with  C.  H.  Moore  &  Co.  and  has 
followed  the  business  ever  since. 

Mr.  Schadt  has  about  $30,000  invested 
in  a  very  complete  stock,  and  is  doing  an 
excellent  business,  not  in  Galveston  alone, 
but  also  in  all  the  adjacent  country.  He 
has  several  valuable  and  profitable  agen- 
cies, among  them  that  for  the  Chicago 
Rubber  Paints  Co.'s  specialty,  ready 
mixed  rubber  paints.  He  has  had  strong 
competition  to  meet  in  building  up  his 
business  but  is  now  thoroughly  established 
in  the  confidence  and  favor  of  a  large 
patronage. 

He  came  to  Galveston  in  his  childhood, 
and  has  spent  all  his  life  here  except  the 
four  years  of  war,  during  which  he  served 
the  Confederacy  in  Hood's  Brigade  and 
was  in  all  the  engagements  in  which  that 
command  participated.  He  was  wounded 
at  Chickamauga,  and  in  the  battles  of  the 
Wilderness  several  times,  and  was  cap- 
tured at  Darbytown ;  and  while  he  was 
still  under  parole  as  a  prisoner  of  war 
the  civil  conflict  ended.  He  is  a  man  of 
some  property  here  outside  his  business, 


94 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


is  a  director  of  the  Island  City  Savings 
Bank,  a  stockholder  in  the  Citizens  Loan 
Co.  and  in  the  Texas  Standard  Cotton  Oil 
Co.  of  this  city  also. 

THE  REDFIELD  COMPANY,  dealers  in 
builders'  material,  at  171  Mechanic  street, 
are  State  agents  for  the  J.  E.  Bolles  & 
Co.  wire  and  iron  works,  Detroit,  Mich., 
William  Wilier' s  celebrated  inside  sliding 
blinds,  Milwaukee,  Wis.  ;  the  New  York 
Architectural  Terra  Cotta  Co.,  the  A.  A. 
Griffing  iron  works,  Jersey  City,  N.  J., 
manufacturers  of  the  Bundy  radiators, 
Wm.  B.  Dunning,  Geneva,  N.  Y. ,  in- 
ventor and  manufacturer  of  the  Dunning 
boiler  for  steam  and  hot  water  heating ; 
the  Warner  Elevator  Manufacturing  Co., 
Cincinnati,  Ohio ;  the  Van  Duzen  Gas 
Engine  Co.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio;  the  Gum- 
mey-Speiring  Co.,  Philadelphia  and  Liver- 
pool, tin  plate  and  metal  shingles,  and  a 
number  of  other  large  manufacturers  in 
building  material.  They  are  the  only 
firm  in  the  United  States  that  controls  an 
entire  State  for  the  sale  of  the  Wilier 
inside  sliding  blinds. 

They  now  do  a  business  aggregating 
over  $250,000  per  annum,  and  rapidly 
increasing,  and  their  trade  extends  all 
over  Texas ;  they  have  also  a  large  trade 
in  Arkansas,  Louisiana  and  the  Republic 
of  Mexico. 

Mr.  E.  F.  Redfield,  the  president  and 
general  manager  of  the  company,  came 
from  Tennessee  to  Texas  in  1872.  He 
had  previously  been  engaged  in  business 
in  Nashville  and  Jasper,  in  that  State ;  he 
is  a  veteran  of  four  years'  service  in  the 
C.  S.  A.,  is  the  pi-esident  of  the  Journal 
of  Commerce  Co.  here,  and  is  a  very 
enterprising  and  energetic  business  man, 
well  known  and  well  liked  all  over  Texas. 

EDMOND  BROWNE,  slater  aryl  whole- 
sale dealer  in  roofing  slate,  at  Houston 
and  Galveston,  has  his  office  and  yards 
here  at  Twenty-first  street  and  Avenue  A. 
He  is  the  pioneer  in  his  business  in  Texas, 
and  the  only  dealer  of  any  note  in  the  two 


cities  in  which  he  has  establishments. 
He  has  been  in  this  line  in  this  part  of  the 
country  since  1865,  and  was  in  it  before 
that,  in  Pennsylvania,  his  native  State, 
He  has  fifteen  hands  steadily  employed 
here,  on  both  new  and  old  work,  and  has 
about  $20,000  invested  in  the  business. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  the  wholesale 
grocery  firm  of  J.  W.  Haskins  &  Co.  of 
Houston,  and  has  accumulated  considera- 
ble property  in  the  city  on  Buffalo  Bayou. 
He  does  work  in  all  parts  of  Texas  and 
frequently  also  in  Eastern  Louisiana,  and 
is  a  shipper  of  the  stock  he  deals  in  to  all 
points  in  Galveston's  trade  territory. 

THE  GALVESTON  COAL  COMPANY, 
which  has  yards  and  offices  on  Strand, 
between  Nineteenth  and  Twentieth  streets. 
has  a  trade  of  very  large  proportions.  It 
is  a  dealer  in  both  anthracite  and  bitumin- 
ous coals,  and  handles  steam,  blacksmith- 
ing  and  domestic  varieties  in  very  great 
quantity.  Its  'receipts  are  from  English, 
Pennsylvania,  Alabama  and  Colorado 
mines,  and  its  shipments  are  to  places  as  far 
distant  as  those  of  Arkansas,  Kansas  and 
Mexico,  as  well  as  those  in  Texas  and  adja- 
cent Louisiana. 

This  company  was  organized  in  1873. 
Capt.  Robert  Irvine,  capitalist  of  this  city, 
is  its  president;  C.  L.  Beissner,  capitalist 
and  Capt.  Irvine's  partner  in  lighterage 
and  other  business  affairs  here,  and  also  a 
very  substantial  man,  is  treasurer,  and  F. 
C.  Jefferey  manager.  Mr.  Jefferey  has 
been  managing  this  business  for  fifteen 
years. 

PARK  &  McRAE,  wholesale  coal  deal- 
ers, corner  of  Twentieth  and  Strand,  are 
handling  eight  or  ten  thousand  tons  of 
coal  now  a  year,  and  expect  to  complete 
arrangements,  during  the  current  year,  by 
which  they  will  have  forty  to  fifty  thou- 
sand tons  to  dispose  of,  and  thus  become 
the  leading  coal  dealers  at  Galveston. 
They  will  then  make  an  addition  to  their 
yards,  at  the  wharf  below  them,  300  \  i<><> 
feet,  and  will  put  up  an  elevator  having 


THE   CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


95 


600  tons  daily  capacity  to  handle  Alabama 
coal  consigned  to  them  by  the  Expoi't 
Coal  Co.  of  Pensacola,  for  whom  they 
will  be  exclusive  agents.  They  will  con- 
tinue, however,  to  handle,  as  at  present, 
anthracite  and  foreign  coals. 

This  firm  runs  nineteen  teams  for  city 
delivery,  and  has  quite  a  Texas  trade 
besides.  They  handle  building  and  filling 
sand  largely  also,  and  have  a  contract 
with  the  city  to  do  all  the  grading  and  fill- 
ing of  the  streets. 

Mr.  Park  was  formerly  engaged  here 
in  the  wholesale  grocery  business,  and  is 
now  a  member  of  the  firm  of  H.  N.  Con- 
nor &  Co.,  book  and  stationery  dealers  of 
Ft.  Worth,  although  a  resident  here.  Both 
he  and  Mr.  McRae  are,  as  this  account 
discloses,  enterprising  business  men ;  in 
fact,  they  may  be  taken  as  excellent  repre- 
sentatives of  the  younger  generation  of 
Galveston  merchants.  Mr.  McRae  came 
here  from  Richmond,  Va.,  in  1870,  and 
after  a  short  time  spent  in  banking  and 
insurance  embarked  in  business  with  Mr. 
Park.  They  both  own  property  here  and 
are  confident  from  their  own  experiences 
that  Galveston's  future  is  hardly  yet  fore- 
shadowed. 

CHAS.  DALIAN,  importer  and  wholesale 
dealer  in  wines  and  liquors  on  Market 
street  between  Twenty-fourth  and  Twen- 
ty-fifth, is  a  Parisian  by  birth,  but  has 
been  in  the  liquor  trade  in  this  country 
since  1853,  and  in  business  for  himself 
since  1857.  He  was  in  it  at  New  Orleans 
for  thirteen  years  before  he  came  here  in 
1865,  and  established  himself. 

He  makes  a  specialty  of  fine  goods  and 
importations  and  besides  the  patronage  of 
most  of  the  retail  dealers  of  the  city  has 
a  State  trade.  He  is  agent  for  the  Due 
de  Montebello  champagnes,  and  for  J.  M. 
Harper  and  A.  H.  Meyers'  Schuylkill 
malt,  and  he  imports  direct,  celebrated 
English  whiskies,  Bordeaux  clarets  and 
other  French-  wines  and  cordials  of  all 
kinds.  Among  other  specialties  he  handles 


Peychaud,  Ballou  and  other  bitters,  and 
Wm.  J.  Lemp's  St.  Louis  beer.  In  short, 
he  carries  the  finest  kind  of  an  imported 
and  domestic  stock  of  high  priced  goods 
for  which  his  house  is  known  to  be  head- 
quarters, throughout  the  State.  He  sel- 
dom has  less  than  a  $25,000  stock  on 
hand  and  frequently  more,  and  he  does  a 
business  of  fully  $100,000  a  year.  He 
is  agent  also  for  Lescarret  &  Co.'s  Bor- 
deaux line  of  sailing  packets  which  call 
here  at  intervals. 

Mr.  Dalian  is  the  oldest  of  the  local 
jobbers  of  liquors,  that  is  to  say,  the 
longest  established.  He  has  been  quite 
successful  in  his  business  and  has  accumu- 
lated a  considerable  estate,  part  of  which 
is  the  property  known  as  Dalian's  Gar- 
dens on  the  beach,  a  place  frequented  by 
the  best  people  of  Galveston.  He  is  also 
a  stockholder  in  a  number  of  the  local 
enterprises  and  industries. 

THE  PROTECTION  On,  Co.,  under  which 
name  Messrs.  C.  B.  Pettit  &  Co.  have 
been  doing  business  here  for  a  number  of 
years,  has  its  place  of  business  at  2128 
Market  street.  This  company  is  engaged 
in  the  trade  in  illuminating  and  lubricating 
oils,  and  lamps,  lanterns  and  burners  of 
all  kinds  One  of  the  proprietors  (Mr. 
C.  W.  Robinson)  is  established  in  Hous- 
ton and  the  house  has  branches  and  repre- 
sentatives in  other  parts  of  the  State. 
The  headquarters  of  the  company  is  at 
New  Orleans,  and  its  affairs  there  are 
managed  by  President  Pettit. 

The  Galveston  house,  known  generally 
as  C.  B.  Pettit  &  Co.,  is  managed  by  Mr. 
G.  R.  Christie,  a  native  of  this  city.  A 
hot  competition  waged  against  the  Pro- 
tection, by  the  Texas  representatives  of 
the  Standard  Oil  Co.,  has  been  met  by  the 
Protection  with  so  much  spirit,  that  of 
late  its  greater  rival  has  somewhat  abated 
its  efforts.  The  specialty  of  the  Protec- 
tion Company  is  its  "  Ursoleum  "  brand, 
a  150  degree  illuminating  oil,  but  a  very 
extensive  business  is  done  by  it  in  bulk 


96 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


and  barrel  oils  of  all  kinds,  in  gasoline 
and  oil  stoves,  hanging  and  standing 
lamps,  burners  and  chimneys,  sold  chiefly 
here,  and  by  mail  order  in  the  trade  terri- 
tory of  the  city. 

PALMER  &  REY,  type  founders  and 
press  builders,  of  San  Francisco,  the  larg- 
est printers'  supply  house  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  have  been  established  for  over  thirty 
years,  and  are  incorporated  with  $500,000 
capital.  They  have  branches  in  Portland, 
Oregon,  and  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  and  in 
Galveston,  the  latter  established  in  May, 
1889,  and  under  the  management  of  O. 
Paget,  a  printer  and  newspaper  man  of 
twenty  years'  experience.  The  company 
has  established  a  branch  house  in  Dallas 
also,  with  Capt.  J.  O.  Stanage  as  man- 
ager ;  but  the  State  trade  is  to  be  done 
from  here ;  and  also  a  business  in  Eastern 
Louisiana,  New  Mexico  and  Mexico. 

Palmer  &  Rey  have  a  very  large  foun- 
dry and  machine  shops  in  San  Francisco, 
and  are  manufacturing  there  the  "Califor- 
nia Reliable"  job  press  and  "California 
Reliable"  cylinder  press,  which  have 
taken  many  premiums  at  State  fairs,  nota- 
bly at  the  Dallas  Exposition  of  1889.  They 
handle  printers'  material  of  all  kinds,  and 
carry  at  the  branches,  as  well  as  in  the 
parent  concern,  a  large  stock  of  these  and 
of  inks  of  all  kinds.  They  have  leased  a 
large  building  here,  and  have  laid  in  a 
complete  assortment  of  all  the  articles  in 
their  specimen  book,  and  they  contemplate 
a  venture  here  soon,  employing  150  hands, 
a  full  account  of  which  will  be  given  in  a 
later  edition  of  this  work. 

They  circulate  also  a  monthly,  contain- 
ing information  of  interest  to  those  who 
follow  the  art  preservative — the  Pacific 
Printer.  Their  place  is  on  Strand,  be- 
tween Twenty-second  and  Twenty-third. 

B.  R.  DAVIS  &  BRO.,  wholesale  and 
retail  dealers  in  furniture  and  carpets,  on 
Market  street,  between  Twenty-fourth  and 
Twenty-fifth,  carry  a  larger  stock  and  do 
a  larger  business  than  any  house  in  the 


State.  They  own  and  occupy  a  three- 
story  building,  which  is  86  x  120  feet,  and 
this  is  stocked  with  as  complete  lines  as 
can  be  found  in  one  establishment  any- 
where in  this  country,  the  whole  valued 
at  $125,000. 

The  house  has  been  in  business  for 
thirty-two  years  and  is  known  wherever 
Galveston  has  trade.  B.  R  Davis,  who 
founded  it,  is  dead,  but  his  interest  is  held 
by  his  relict,  and  the  business  is  managed 
by  the  surviving  partner,  J.  P.  Davis,  who 
has  been  one  of  the  firm  since  1865.  He 
is  a  Pennsylvanian  by  birth  but  a  resident 
here  from  his  youth,  and  is  a  man  thor- 
oughly posted  in  all  the  details  of  the  fur- 
niture trade.  He  gives  an  undivided 
attention  to  the  affairs  of  the  house,  which 
are  many  and  various.  It  has  sixteen 
salesmen,  besides  other  employes. 

BALDINGER  BROS.,  corner  of  Mechanic 
and  Twenty-second  streets,  are  leading 
dealers  in  crockery,  glassware,  house- 
furnishing  wares  and  goods,  baby  car- 
riages, bicycles,  etc.,  doing  both  a  whole- 
sale and  retail  business,  and  having  a 
large  jobbing  trade  in  Texas  and  Western 
Louisiana,  and  a  particularly  good  local 
retail  patronage.  The  house  is  one  of  the 
oldest  in  any  line  here.  It  was  established 
in  1843  by  the  father  of  its  present  pro- 
prietor, and  has  been  located  on  the  same 
property  since  1850.  It  was  originally  a 
grocery  house,  dealing  in  crockery  and 
glassware  incidentally,  but  after  the  war 
the  present  line  was  adopted  by  its  foun- 
der. 

The  building  occupied  by  this  house  is 
a  three-story  brick.  Besides  that  two 
warehouses  are  required  for  the  stock, 
which  is  one  of  as  much  variety  as  is 
usually  found  in  the  large  cities.  It 
includes  imported  as  well  as  domestic 
wares,  and  is  especially  complete  in  all 
the  requisites  of  domestic  economy  and 
ornamentation. 

E.  E.  Baldinger,  a  son  of  the  founder  of 
the  house,  is  principal  in  the  management 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


97 


of  the  business.  He  is  a  native  of  the 
city  and  has  been  in  the  trade  from  his 
youth  up. 

J.  J.  SCHOTT,  druggist,  at  217  and  219 
Market  street,  established  himself  first  in 
that  line  here  in  1867,  and  was  entirely 
successful  in  it.  He  sold  out  in  1885  to 
Tarrant  &  King,  so  as  to  engage  in 
manufacturing  specialties,  but  bought  his 
successors  out  in  1888,  and  returned  to 
his  original  business. 

He  has,  in  all  probability,  the  largest 
retail  drug  house  in  the  South.  He  has 
six  prescription  clerks  besides  his  regular 
salesmen,  and  his  stock  is  as  varied  as  can 
be  found  anywhere.  He  is  sales  agent 
for  a  large  number  of  specialties,  among 
the  rest,  Bucklin's  remedies,  Humphrey's 
and  Boericke  &  Tafel's  homreopathic 
medicines,  Hawk's  spectacles,  Johann 
Hoff's  malt  extract,  the  "  Woodcock " 
rye,  and  the  Irondequoit  Wine  Co.'s 
preparations  of  claret,  port  and  sherry, 
packed  especially  for  druggists. 

His  own  specialties  are  numerous. 
Schott's  marking  ink  is  used  largely  in  all 
the  cotton  States,  for  marking  cotton. 
Schott's  cologne  is  preferred  by  many  to 
the  imported  article.  It  sells  as  f.ar  away 
as  New  England.  He  manufactures,  also, 
extracts,  oils  and  essences,  tonics,  lotions, 
tooth  powders,  and  a  number  of  proprie- 
tary remedies,  which  have  preference  with 
the  trade  for  their  selling  qualities,  and  he 
handles  about  everything  known  in  the 
business  in  the  way  of  sundries,  in  the 
various  departments  of  his  place. 

Many  prescriptions  received  by  mail 
are  filled  in  this  establishment,  and  goods 
are  sent  from  it  to  all  parts  of  Texas. 

WILEY  &  NICHOLLS,  warehousemen 
and  forwarding  agents,  corner  of  Nine- 
teent  street  and  Strand,  make  a  specialty 
of  heavy  hauling,  and  run  seven  three- 
mule  floats  for  that  purpose.  They  num- 
ber among  their  patrons  many  of  the 
principal  business  houses  of  the  city,  and 
they  do  considerable  business  for  shippers 


of  all  parts  of  the  country.  They  have 
five  storage  sheds  for  their  warehouse  and 
forwarding  business  on  the  block  back  of 
their  offices;  these  are  120  by  100,  or 
about  350  feet  square.  They  employ 
fifteen  or  twenty  hands  the  year  round. 

As  forwarders  they  do  considerable 
business  for  safe,  agricultural  machinery 
and  implement  manufacturers,  and  their 
facilities  and  experience  both  for  these  are 
excellent.  Mr.  Wiley  followed  the  sea, 
as  master  of  vessels,  until  he  came  here 
some  ten  years  ago,  and  then  accepted  a 
position  with  Geo.  M.  Steirer  &  Co.,  in 
this  same  line  ;  and  Mr.  Nicholls  was  like- 
wise a  mariner  before  he  took  up  a  resi- 
dence here  and  obtained  the  place  of 
warehouseman  with  Steirer  &  Co.  About 
two  years  ago  they  formed  a  partnership 
and  bought  out  their  employers.  Steirer 
&  Co.  were  the  successors  to  R.  P.  Sar- 
gent &  Co.,  who  succeeded  to  the  business 
of  N.  H.  Ricker  &  Co.,  established  in 
1869,  so  that  the  business  of  Wiley  & 
Nicholls  has  been  established  now  for  over 
twenty  years. 

J.  LEVY  &  BRO.  have  the  largest  livery 
and  sales  stables  here,  and  an  undertaking 
establishment  connected  with  it,  and  have 
also  sales  stables  in  St.  Louis  at  1446 
Broadway.  Their  undertaking  depart- 
ment here  is  on  Winnie  street  between 
Twenty-first  and  Twenty-second.  They 
have  an  experienced  manager  and  funeral 
director  employed  there,  and  four  hearses, 
eight  carriages  and  sixteen  horses  used  for 
no  other  purpose. 

Their  general  sale  and  livery  stables  are 
on  Church  street  between  Twenty-second 
and  Twenty-third.  Here  they  have  twenty 
carriages,  buggies,  etc.,  and  fifty  riding 
and  driving  horses.  They  have  about 
$50,000  invested  in  the  business  in  Gal- 
veston,  and  do  $150,000  of  trade  a  year. 
They  are  also  the  largest  dealers  in  car- 
riages, buggies,  harness,  etc.,  in  the  city, 
and  always  have  a  large  stock  of  these 
on  hand  in  their  salesroom  and  warehouse. 


98 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


Mr.  Ben  Levy  manages  affairs  here, 
Mr.  Joe  Levy  in  St.  Louis.  They  came 
here  in  1865  and  were  in  mercantile  busi- 
ness at  first,  but  have  been  in  this  line 
solely  since  1867  or  1868. 

C.  D.  HOLMES,  jobbing  and  retail  gro- 
cer and  dealer  in  ship  stores,  feed  and 
seeds,  has  been  a  resident  of  Galveston 
for  forty-one  years,  and  has  been  in  busi- 
ness here  since  1865.  He  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Health,  and  active 
always  in  public  affairs,  and  he  is  interested 
in  street  railroad  and  other  local  projects, 
besides  his  business. 

Mr.  Holmes  has  a  large  trade  with  the 
shipping  frequenting  this  port,  and  does 
considerable  as  a  contractor  supplying 
the  government.  His  local  retail  trade 
employs  three  delivery  wagons,  and  his 
seed  trade,  mostly  with  country  patrons, 
is  by  no  means  insignificant.  His  place 
of  business  is  on  Market  street,  between 
Twenty-fourth  and  Twenty-fifth. 

THE  MERCANTILE  AGENCY  OF  R.  G. 
DUN  &  Co.,  which  was  established  in 
New  York  in  1841,  has  nine  branches  in 
Texas ;  namely,  Galveston,  Houston, 
Austin,  San  Antonio,  Dallas,  Fort  Worth, 
Waco,  Sherman  and  El  Paso.  One  of 
the  district  offices  is  located  here,  and  is 
managed  by  Mr.  Edward  H.  Gorse,  who 


has  the  southern  half  of  the  State  under 
his  charge.  His  district  embraces  the 
cities  of  Galveston,  Houston,  Austin  and 
San  Antonio.  Mr.  Gorse  is  well  qualified 
by  experience  and  ability  to  serve  the 
firm's  patrons. 

The  Mercantile  Agency  publishes  a 
reference  book,  containing  the  names  of 
1,200,000  business  firms  in  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  with  markings  for 
credit  and  capital.  Among  the  special 
advantages  of  this  reference  book  are  the 
State  maps,  especially  engraved  and  re- 
garded minutely  correct,  and  the  postal 
and  shipping  guides  prepai'ed  for  the  con- 
venience of  the  mercantile  community. 

The  Agency  has  a  special  department, 
devoted  to  the  collection  of  past  due 
claims,  and  their  business  in  this  direction 
is  very  heavy  in  the  aggregate.  No 
organization  in  the  country  collects  so 
large  an  amount,  and  the  system  is  thor- 
oughly organized.  Its  attorneys  are 
under  bond,  and  the  charges  reasonable. 

The  main  office  of  R.  G.  Dun  &  Co.  is 
in  New  York  city,  and  there  are  132 
branches  in  the  United  States,  Canada  and 
Europe.  The  office  here  is  located  at 
Strand  and  Twenty-third  streets,  the  Gal- 
veston National  Bank  building,  a  block 
only  from  the  Union  Depot. 


MANUFACTURING    PROGRESS    OF    THE    CITY. 


EW  life  has  been  im- 
parted to  the  indus- 
tries of  Galveston, 
and  a  new  spirit 
infused  in  the  peo- 
ple by  the  provision 
of  an  ample  water 
supply.  New  fac- 
tories have  been  established,  old  ones 
enlarged ;  and  local  capital  has  been 
embarked  in  three  particularly  large 
mechanical  ventures  :  a  jute  bagging  mills, 
a  cotton  mills  and  a  cotton  rope  walk, 
the  first  already  in  successful  operation, 
the  second  just  built  and  equipped,  and 
the  last  now  building. 

This  same  forward  spirit  is  exhibited  in 
other  lines  of  production  also.  It  can  be 
seen  in  soap,  candy,  clothing,  patent  medi- 
cine, wool  scouring,  oyster  packing  and 
other  concerns  of  recent  foundation.  The 
growth  of  the  packing  industry  has  been 
particularly  notable ;  several  good-sized 
can  factories  have  been  upbuilt  by  it.  It 
was  in  the  demand  for  factory  sites  at  the 
West  End  of  the  city,  that  the  first  impulse 
originated,  which  has  enlivened  so  much  of 
late,  the  Galveston  real  estate  market. 

Galveston,  easily  first  among  Texas 
cities  in  trade  and  wealth,  is  foremost  also 
in  manufactures.  Statistics  compiled  by 
the  publishers  of  the  city  directory, 
Messrs.  Morrison  &  Fourmy,  show  161 
manufacturing  establishments,  not  count- 
ing minor  concerns  and  building  and  other 
contractors,  and  $5,003,800  of  capital 
invested  in  them.  This  would  indicate 
over  3,000  persons  employed,  $1,375,000 
of  wages  paid  during  the  year,  and  a 
gross  product  of  $7,500,000  a  year,  and 
at  twenty  per  cent  average  profit,  $1,500,- 
ooo  of  gross  returns  from  the  industries, 
sums  considerably  in  excess  of  the  claims 


made  for  Dallas,  the  next  most  important 
trade  center  of  the  State. 

Making  reasonable  allowance  for  the 
items  not  counted  in  the  table  of  the  direc- 
tory, it  is  safe  to  say  that  Galveston, 
miscellaneous  concerns,  building  and  con- 
tractors' work  included,  has  $6,000,000 
of  capital  invested  in  the  productive 
industries,  and  $10,000,000  of  annual  pro- 
duct. This  is  a  hundred  per  cent  of 
increase  since  1885. 

The  161  concerns  of  the  directory  table 
make  50  classifications,  a  number  ex- 
hibiting the  variety  and  diversity  of  the 
industries  of  the  city.  The  most  import- 
ant, as  indicated  by  the  capital  employed 
and  hands  engaged,  are  the  cotton  com- 
presses, the  bagging  factory,  the  cotton 
factory,  the  cotton  oil  mills,  the  flour  and 
grist  mills,  the  oyster  packeries,  the  rope 
walk  and  the  ice  and  printing  works. 
These  industries  have  a  total  capitaliza- 
tion of  $3,400,000  alone  and  fifteen  hun- 
dred of  the  population  get  a  livelihood 
from  them. 

Other  industries,  important  by  reason 
of  the  capital  embarked  in  them,  and  the 
number  of  their  employes,  are  the  follow- 
ing: Foundries,  machine  and  boiler 
works,  for  which  $75,000  capital  is  esti- 
mated ;  railroad  shops,  $36,000 ;  sheet 
iron  and  tin  work,  $72,000;  clothing, 
$20,000;  soap,  $50,000;  crackers  and 
candy,  $93,000;  coffee,  $35,500;  soda 
water,  $23,500;  patent  medicines,  $28,- 
ooo ;  wool  scouring,  $35,000;  marble 
works,  $35,000;  cooperage,  $25,000; 
cisterns,  $31,000;  planing  mills,  $50,000; 
marine  railway,  $35,000;  saddlery,  $16,- 
800;  vinegar,  $10,000;  trunks,  $10,000. 
The  gas  works  of  the  city  represents  an 
investment  of  $400,000,  and  the  three 
electric  light  plants  $150,000. 


100 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


WATER    FOR    MANUFACTURES. 

WHILE  the  growth  of  the  city  in  manu- 
factures is  to  be  ascribed  largely  to  the 
success  of  the  artesian  experiments,  other 
forces  also  accelerate  it.  Some  of  it  arises 
from  local  necessity,  and  much  also  from 
the  accruing  advantages  of  an  enlai'ged 
commercial  sphere,  which  has  cheapened 
material  and  fuel,  provided  enlarged 
transportation  facilities,  and  stimulated 
enterprise.  As  the  venture  which  has 
quickened  production  most,  however,  the 
GALVESTON  ARTESIAN  WELL  COMPANY 
is  the  most  interesting  of  all  the  city's 
later  projects. 

Before  this  company  was  organized 
progress  was  measurably  retarded  by  an 
insufficient  water  supply.  Cisterns  for 
rain  water  were  the  sole  dependence  of 
the  householder  and  the  manufacturer. 
Many  plans  were  proposed  to  surmount 
this  obstacle  to  industrial  advancement, 
as,  for  instance,  the  expensive  scheme  of 
piping  water  from  the  mainland ;  but,  as 
in  that  particular  case,  the  difficulties 
attending  them  discouraged  the  attempt. 
Efforts  had  already  been  made  too  to 
strike  the  underground  reservoirs  of  the 
Island  ;  but  they  only  resulted  in  failure  ; 
and  the  issue  of  this  adventure,  is  there- 
fore, regarded  here,  in  the  light  of  an 
achievement,  the  tapping,  literally,  of  a 
well  spring  of  prosperity  for  Galveston. 

Over  twenty  deep  artesian  wells  have 
been  sunk  in  Galveston,  and  others  are 
projected  or  in  progress,  and  it  has  been 
demonstrated  beyond  a  peradventure,  that 
any  quantity  of  water  desired  can  be 
readily  obtained  from  these  subterranean 
sources  at  a  reasonable  expense.  This 
company  has  drilled  fourteen  wells  here 
thus  far ;  they  vary  in  depth  from  800  to 
1,350  feet,  and  the  deepest  naturally  have 
the  strongest  flow.  Their  capacity  is  as 
follows  :  Galveston  Cotton  Seed  Oil  Co., 
450,000  gallons  in  twenty-four  hours ; 
Galveston  Cold  Storage  and  Ice  Co.  (two 


wells),  600,000  gallons;  Galveston  Bag- 
ging and  Cordage  Co.,  310,000  gallons; 
Galveston  Electric  Light  Co.,  50,000  gal- 
lons ;  Gulf,  Colorado  &  Santa  Fe  shops, 
40,000  gallons  ;  eight  city  wells,  2,400,000 
gallons.  The  city  has  sunk  also  five  other 
wells,  on  payment  of  a  royalty,  with  this 
company's  machinery.  These  five  have 
about  500,000  gallons  capacity,  and  one 
or  two  other  wells  here,  make  the  flow 
from  the  artesian  sources  of  supply  be- 
tween 4,500,000  and  5.000,000  gallons  in 
twenty-four  hours,  an  amount  that  can  be 
increased  a  third,  at  least,  by  pumping. 

From  the  successive  strata  encountered 
in  boring  these  wells,  it  is  evident  that  the 
island  has  been  formed  by  slow  accretions 
of  marine  debris,  deposited  in  layers  of 
clay  and  sand,  or  mixed  clay  and  sand, 
one  upon  another,  until  it  finally  rose 
above  the  gulf.  The  water  veins  are  in 
the  layers  of  sand,  one  at  795  feet  from 
the  surface,  one  at  910  feet  (on  the  west 
side  of  the  island  only),  providing  a 
bountiful  flow,  and  one,  the  best  vein  of 
all,  and  the  one  having  the  strongest 
pressure,  at  1,346  feet,  the  greatest  depth 
yet  reached  by  the  drill  on  the  island. 

The  company  has  $2 5,000  of  its  $50,000 
authorized  capital  paid  up,  and  complete 
facilities  for  the  business,  including  three 
complete  sets  of  rock  tools,  two  sets  of 
hydraulic  tools,  and  experienced  employes, 
It  was  organized  in  1887.  J.  W.  Byrnes 
is  president  and  general  manager;  B. 
Adoue  treasurer,  and  W.  H.  Sinclair, 
postmaster  of  the  city,  secretary.  It  is 
now  engaged  in  sinking  wells  at  Laredo, 
on  the  Mexican  border,  for  the  Laredo 
Improvement  Company,  and  has  contracts 
for  work  in  other  parts  of  the  State  also. 

Besides  this  of  its  water  supply,  Gal- 
veston has  other  advantages  for  manufac- 
tures. It  has  a  progressive  community 
appreciative  of  the  advantages  derived 
from  industrial  enterprise,  and  possessed 
of  the  surplus  capital  to  embark  in  them. 
It  has  cheap  building  sites,  and  low  taxes. 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


101 


It  is  a  seaport,  and  as  such  a  market  for 
foreign,  Pennsylvania  and  Alabama  coals, 
a  fuel  supply  which,  ere  long  will  be  sup- 
plemented by  the  product  of  Central  and 
Southern  Texas,  where  extensive  fields 
are  just  being  exploited.  It  has,  in  its 
rapidly  populating  trade  territory  of  Texas 
assurance  at  one  and  the  same  time,  of  an 
expanding  market,  and  a  plentiful  labor 
supply,  and  in  the  resources  of  this  same 
tributary  field,  a  superabundance  of  raw 
material.  And  it  has  a  climate  permitting 
operations  the  year  round. 

Texas  alone  can  supply  it  the  cotton 
and  wool  for  manufacture  of  fabrics,  the 
wheat  and  corn  and  oats  for  breadstuffs, 
the  beeves  and  fruits  and  fish  and  oysters 
for  packing  and  canning,  the  timber  for 
house  work  and  furniture  and  wagons, 
the  hides  for  tanning,  the  horns  and  bone 
for  minor  industries.  Texas  alone  could 
supply  it  with  iron  from  its  fields  in  Llano 
and  other  central  counties  of  the  State,  with 
copper,  marble  and  granite,  cement,  gyp- 
sum, guano  and  sugar,  to  make  it  one  of 
the  world's  greatest  centers  of  production. 

Texas,  said  the  Galveston  News  some 
time  ago,  is  sacrificing  33/3  per  cent  of 
the  profits  on  its  cotton  crops  by  paying 
transportation  charges  and  shipping  them 
abroad  to  be  manufactured,  somewhat 
more  on  wool,  and  50  per  cent  at  least  on 
hides ;  not  to  speak  of  the  incidental  fea- 
tures of  packing,  harness  making,  fer- 
tilizers, etc.  The  saving  possible  on  a 
single  year's  cotton  crop  by  home  manu- 
facture, it  calculated,  would  be  $20,000,- 
ooo,  enough  to  establish  mills  all  over  the 
State.  Twenty  cotton  mills  might  be 
operated  at  Galveston  as  well  as  one,  so 
far  as  material  is  concerned,  and  in  this 
respect  it  might  easily  be  made  the  rival 
of  Fall  River.  The  opportunities  for 
manufactures  generally,  in  a  city  which  is 
looked  to  for  supplies  by  the  most  rapidly 
settling  region  of  the  Union,  indeed,  are 
limited  only  by  special  circumstances  of 
competition. 


NEW    ENTERPRISES    SKETCHED. 

FOLLOWING  are  some  of  the  more  im- 
portant of  the  new  Galveston  manufac- 
turing establishments. 

THE  ISLAND  CITY  MANUFACTURING 
Co.  is  one  of  the  notable  manufacturing 
concerns  established  recently,  because  of 
the  encouraging  prospects  unfolded  for 
Galveston  by  the  provision  of  a  permanent 
water  supply,  and  other  circumstances 
enhancing  her  advantages  as  a  field  for 
business  enterprise.  The  principals  in  it 
are  gentlemen  of  long  experience  in  trade 
here,  and  accustomed  to  the  direction  of 
affairs  of  importance :  Messrs.  M.  J. 
Sass,  who  has  been  connected  for  years 
with  Weis  Bros.,  Block,  Oppenhimer  & 
Co.  and  their  predecessors,  Greenleve, 
Block  &  Co.,  in  a  trusted  capacity,  and 
L.  Weis,  a  resident  of  Texas  since  1858, 
and  formerly  one  of  the  clothing  firm  of 
Levy  &  Weis.  These  are  concerns  among 
the  most  distinguished  in  Texas,  certainly 
the  foremost  in  clothing,  gents'  furnishing 
goods  and  kindred  lines. 

They  began  in  May,  1889,  with  a  full 
equipment  for  the  manufacture  of  pants, 
shirts,  overalls  and  drawers,  and  have 
since  developed  trade  in  Texas,  Louisiana, 
Arkansas,  Old  and  New  Mexico  and 
Arizona.  They  are  employing  125  to  150 
hands  and  have  five  men  on  the  road  sell- 
ing for  them.  They  occupy  three  floors 
of  a  large  building  on  Strand  between 
Twenty-third  and  Twenty-fourth,  the 
second  floor  for  their  offices  and  sample 
rooms,  the  third  for  manufacturing  pur- 
poses and  the  fourth  for  stock.  Every- 
thing points  to  a  speedy  realization  of  their 
highest  expectations  with  respect  to  their 
venture,  and  to  the  firm  establishment  of 
an  industry  of  material  benefit  to  the  city. 

Both  partners  give  an  undivided  atten- 
tion to  the  affairs  of  the  business.  Mr. 
Weis  superintends  the  manufacturing 
details,  and  Mr.  Sass  devotes  himself  to 
the  general  affairs  of  management. 


102 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


THE  GALVESTON  COTTON  AND  WOOLEN 
MILLS,  the  buildings  for  which  are  now 
under  construction,  are  perhaps  the  enter- 
prise biggest  with  the  promise  of  progress 
for  Galveston.  Besides  the  livelihood 


shows,  the  structure  will  be  one  of  im- 
posing character,  and  not  without  salient 
architectural  features.  It  is  to  be  of  brick 
300  by  106  feet  and  four  stories  high,  with 
an  annex  for  a  boiler  house.  Two  high 


•^Bgss&JM. 

THE    NEW    COTTON    MILLS,    GALVESTON. 


they  will  afford  to  the  laboring  element  of 
population  and  the  incidental  business 
they  must  make,  they  will  further  the 
centralization  here  of  the  traffic  which  is 
the  life  and  soul  of  the  port,  the  trade  in 
cotton.  To  an  appreciable  extent,  they 
will  be  an  advantage  also  to  all  the  State. 
This  enterprise,  like  the  water  wells,  also 
originated  with  Galveston  residents  and  is 
promoted  entirely  with  Galveston  capital. 
The  Cotton  and  Woolen  Mills  company 
was  incorporated  in  1889,  and  work  was 
begun  on  the  factory  buildings  soon  after. 
A  site  was  chosen  in  the  western  outskirts 
of  the  city,  at  Fortieth  street  and  avenue 
G,  and  construction  has  so  far  progressed 
that  it  is  confidently  expected  that  the 
mills  will  be  in  operation  by  midsummer 
of  1890.  As  the  engraving  on  this  page 


towers  will  dignify  its  front  elevation  and 
a  massive  octagonal  chimney  154  feet  high 
in  the  rear,  will  likely  make  it  one  of  the 
landmarks  of  the  city. 

It  will  have  25,000  spindles  and  750 
looms,  and  will  furnish  employment  to 
360  hands,  who,  under  the  direction  of 
Superintendent  Lawrence  V.  Elder,  an 
experienced  man,  will  be  engaged  at  first 
in  production  of  medium  weight  domes- 
tics ;  but  the  mill  is  equipped  for  manu- 
facture of  the  finer  qualities  of  goods 
demanded  in  the  Eastern  markets,  and 
these  will  also  be  produced  as  soon  as  a 
fair  start  has  been  made. 

The  company  has  $500,000  authorized 
capital.  Albert  Weis  of  Weis  Bros, 
is  its  president ;  B.  Adoue,  the  banker, 
vice-president,  and  Julius  Runge,  cotton 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


103 


factor  and  city  treasurer,  secretary  and 
treasurer.  The  directors  are  Messrs. 
Weis,  Adoue  and  Runge,  J.  Reymers- 
hoffer,  Wm.  F.  Ladd,  M.  Lasker  and 
George  Sealy,  all  of  whom  are  sketched 
in  connection  with  other  concerns  of 
importance  in  which  they  are  interested 
here. 

THE  GALVESTON  BAGGING  &  CORDAGE 
FACTORY  is  one  of  those  recently  estab- 
lished enterprises  of  Galveston  which  tes- 
tify at  once  to  the  progress,  the  enterprise 
and  the  solid  wealth  of  the  city.  The 
company  operating  this  factory  was 
organized  in  1888  and  has  $250,000  cap- 
ital paid  up,  together  with  a  mill  that  cost, 
with  its  site  and  machinery,  $225,000.  It 
employs  223  hands,  and  almost  its  entire 
product  is  taken  by  the  Galveston  mer- 
chants to  supply  the  Texas  demand  for 
bagging. 

The  factory  and  warehouses  cover  an 
entire  block  at  Church  and  Winnie,  Thir- 


mote  the  health  and  comfort  of  the  op- 
eratives. The  machinery,  comprising 
thirty-five  looms  and  the  appurtenances 
for  hackling  and  separating  the  fiber, 
engines,  etc  ,  is  conceded  an  unexcelled 
equipment.  It  cost  $125,000  and  has  all 
the  latest  improvements  devised  to  save 
labor  and  expedite  manufacture. 

The  capacity  of  the  mills  is  4,000,000 
yards  a  year.  The  jute,  originally  grown 
in  India,  is  bought  in  New  York  city  and 
stored  there  for  shipment  as  needed.  A 
new  warehouse  is  about  to  be  constructed 
on  the  grounds  here,  however,  especially 
to  hold  the  raw  material  which  the  com- 
pany will  shortly  import?  direct.  In  con- 
nection with  the  bagging,  the  company 
handles  also  English  ties,  used  with  the 
bagging,  for  the  baling  of  cotton.  This 
item  alone  aggregates  a  matter  of  some 
2,000  tons  a  season. 

To  describe  the  various  processes  pur- 
sued in  turning  the  jute  into  bagging  is 


GALVESTON   BAGGING   FACTORY. 


ty-third  and  Thirty-fourth  streets.  The 
building  is  considered  one  of  the  best  in 
the  country  for  the  purpose.  Its  ventila- 
tion and  accessories  of  bath,  wash  rooms, 
etc.,  have  been  especially  designed  to  pro- 


hardly  the  province  of  these  sketches. 
From  the  beginning,  when  the  bales  are 
broken  and  put  through  the  desiccating 
machinery,  until  the  baling  fabric  issues 
from  the  sales  departments,  bearing  the 


104 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


company's  brand,  the  operations  are  many 
and  the  proceedings  exceedingly  intricate. 
It  seems  sufficient  to  say  of  the  company 
that  it  supplies  a  large  part  of  the  covering 
used  for  the  protection  of  the  great  staple 
of  Texas,  is  doing  an  excellent  business, 
and  is,  in  respect  of  its  management,  con- 
ducted independently  of  any  other  similar 
venture  here  or  elsewhere.  Its  resources, 
facilities  and  field  permit  it  the  utmost 
latitude  for  development  and  enlargement, 
and  measures  are  being  taken  to  in- 
crease its  effectiveness.  Machinery  for 
making  all  kinds  of  twines  will  be  in  oper- 
ation by  January  i,  1890,  and  that  part  of 
the  factory  will  amploy  nearly  as  many 
operatives  as  the  departments  for  produc- 
tion of  bagging.  It  is  supererogatory, 
almost,  to  remark  in  this  connection,  that 
it  has  been  of  equal  benefit,  as  a  new 
industry  and  productive  agency,  to  both 
Galveston  and  Texas. 

The  officers  of  the  company  and  prin- 
cipal stockholders  are  B.  Adoue,  the 
banker  of  this  city,  president ;  J.  M. 
Brown,  of  the  J.  S.  Brown  Hardware  Co., 
vice-president;  W.  F.  Ladd,  cotton  factor 
and  cotton  shipper,  secretary  and  treas- 
urer; these  gentlemen,  with  H.  Kempner, 
cotton  factor,  and  T.  W.  English,  iron 
and  coal  dealer,  directors.  They  are  all 
men  identified  by  property  and  social  ties 
with  the  best  interests  of  the  city. 

EXLINE  &  GRUENDLER'S  Galveston 
Wool  Scouring  Mills  were  established  in 
the  spring  of  '89  by  Theodore  Howard? 
in  whose  hands  the  venture  was  entirely 
experimental  and  not  at  all  the  marked 
success  the  present  owners  have  made  it. 
They  put  in  machinery  adapted  to  the 
business,  and  easily  achieved  the  results 
he  aimed  at,  but  fell  short  of.  The  estab- 
lishment is,  therefore,  another  confirma- 
tion of  the  progress  of  Galveston  in  manu- 
facturing industry.  It  may  be  considered, 
too,  peculiarly  a  Galveston  enterprise,  for 
Messrs.  Exline  and  Gruencfler  are  residents 
of  the  city,  and  long  in  business  here. 


Mr.  Exline  has  been  engaged  in  the 
cotton  and  wool  trade  here  for  over 
twenty  years,  and  he  is  consequently  an 
expert  in  matters  pertaining  to  these 
Texas  staples,  It  was  he  who  bought  out 
the  hardware  stock  of  E.  S.  Wood  & 
Sons  last  year,  on  speculation,  a  transac- 
tion evincing  his  business  characteristics. 
He  is  a  native  of  Chicago,  and  came  to 
Texas  first  as  a  Federal  volunteer,  one  of 
the  division  of  the  heroic  but  ill-fated 
Custer.  His  partner,  Mr.  Gruendler,  is 
a  native  of  the  city,  and  having  likewise 
spent  a  lifetime  in  the  trade  in  wool  and 
hides,  was  far  from  a  novice  in  lines  like 
this  allied  to  it ;  although  they  both  found 
it  an  entirely  new  undertaking,  and  until 
they  had  thoroughly  established  it  gave  it 
an  undivided  attention. 

They  brought  operatives  from  the 
North,  and  put  in  new  machinery  of  a 
pattern  approved  by  trial,  the  Smith 
bowls,  long  in  use  and  standard  for  wool 
scouring  at  Boston,  and  in  other  large 
centers  of  the  trade.  This  machinery  has 
capacity,  when  26  to  30  men  are  em- 
ployed, which  is  their  usual  force,  to 
clean  8,000  pounds  of  greased  wool  in  ten 
hours.  They  are  located  in  a  two  story 
building,  40x120  feet  ground  plan,  on 
Strand,  between  "Nineteenth  and  Twen- 
tieth, and  have  now  the  most  ample 
facilities  for  a  trade  in  wool,  aggregating 
1,500,000  to  2, 000,000 pounds  a  year. 

The  machinery  put  in  by  them  cost 
$15,000,  the  building  about  as  much  more. 
They  have  fully  $50,000  of  capital  in- 
vested in  this  plant  and  their  business. 
They  will  buy  from  the  wool  factors  in 
Galveston,  and  will  sell  chiefly  to  the 
New  York  brokers  purchasing  for  Eastern 
manufacturers.  They  have  men  on  the 
road  also  soliciting  consignments. 

The  processes  through  which  the  wool 
is  put  in  this  establishment  are  explained 
by  the  following  description  of  their 
premises :  The  first  floor  is  their  engine 
room,  and  has  in  it  also  four  Smith  bowl 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


105 


scouring  machines.  The  upper  floor  is 
used  as  a  sorting,  drying,  "duster," 
"fur-picker,"  "breaking"  and  packing 
room.  The  wool,  as  it  comes  from  the 
ranch  or  warehouse,  is  first  sorted  and 
graded.  Next  it  goes  through  the 
"  duster,  "  a  device  whose  name  indicates 
its  purpose  It  then  passes  through  the 
bowls,  which  contain  a  cleansing  liquor 
(the  last  of  them  pure  water),  and  thence 
to  a  drying  room,  heated  by  steam  to  120 
degrees  Fahrenheit.  Revolving  rakes  and 
other  devices  and  rollers  to  press  out  the 
water,  do  the  work.  After  drying  it  is 
re-sorted  to  detect  irregularities,  and  then 
bagged  for  shipment, 

REPRESENTATIVE     CONCERNS. 

THE  following  sketches  exhibit  the 
characteristics  of  a  representative  number 
of  Galveston's  leading  manufacturing 
enterprises,  their  methods,  facilities,  trade 
territory,  history,  principals  and  other 
facts  likely  to  be  interesting  concerning 
them. 

THE  TEXAS  STAR  FLOUR  MILLS,  shown 
in  the  illustration  on  page  107,  are 
among  the  largest,  if  indeed  they  are  not 
the  very  largest  concern  of  the  kind,  in 
the  South.  A  special  interest  attaches  to 
them  too,  for  the  reason  that  they  are 
particularly  a  Galveston  enterprise,  an 
undertaking  established  by  residents  of 
progressive  business  characteristics,  with 
their  own  money,  and  developed  and 
upbuilt  unassisted  by  these  same  princi- 
pals, from  a  venture  of  moderate  propor- 
tions to  one  of  the  first  rank  among 
establishments  of  its  class. 

The  Messrs.  Reymershoffer  and  their 
associates  in  these  mills,  are  of  German 
extraction,  but  they  were  raised  in  this 
State  and  are  thoroughly  imbued  with  the 
spirit  and  sentiment  of  the  people  of  this 
section  ;  so  that  this  enterprise  of  theirs 
is  one  of  the  many  evidences  that  the 
restoration  of  the  South,  and  its  recent 


wonderful  expansion,  should  be  credited 
to  the  native  and  long-resident  stock, 
whose  innate  energy,  it  must  be  admitted, 
has  wrought  the  changes  that  have  made 
the  once  war-wasted  slave  States  a  verit- 
able "  New  South." 

Some  little  personal  mention  of  these 
gentlemen  is  necessary  to  a  thorough 
comprehension  of  what  they  have  accom- 
plished. John  Reymershoffer,  the  father 
of  the  brothers  engaged  in  management 
of  the  mills,  came  to  Texas  from  Austria 
in  1854,  bringing  with  him  his  wife,  two 
sons  and  three  daughters.  He  embarked 
in  a  general  merchandising  business  in 
Colorado  county  before  the  war,  and  dur- 
ing it  was  also  in  business  in  Mexico. 
After  the  war  the  sons  established  them- 
selves here  in  the  wholesale  crockery  and 
glassware  business,  as  J.  Reymershoffer' s 
Sons,  and  in  1870  converted  their  resources 
and  interests  so  as  to  do  business  under 
the  same  name  as  general  commission 
merchants,  a  line  in  which  they  still  con- 
tinue to  do  a  very  considerable  business. 

In  1878,  the  brothers,  John  and  Gus 
Reymershoffer,  although  without  previous 
milling  experience,  organized  the  Texas 
Star  Flour  Mills  company.  Lothar 
Becker,  since  deceased,  a  miller*of  expe- 
rience, and  the  inventor  of  several  milling 
devices,  C.  Bothman  and  a  few  other  of 
their  Galveston  friends,  took  stock  with 
them.  The  incorporation  had  $50,000 
capital.  They  built  a  hundred  barrel 
French  buhr  mill,  enlarging  it  at  intervals 
as  their  trade  grew,  until,  in  1886,  they  had 
a  daily  output  of  350  barrels,  and  a  well 
established  reputation  for  their  product. 
The  development  of  the  business,  and  the 
general  introduction  of  roller  machinery 
throughout  the  country,  decided  them  to 
build  a  new  mill,  and  this  was  completed 
in  1887  and  put  in  operation  about  the  close 
of  that  year.  Experts  in  mill  construc- 
tion were  employed  to  do  the  work,  and 
provision  was  made  for  the  anticipated 
continuance  of  growth.  Machinery  suffi- 


.....  ,  '^ 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


107 


cient  to  run  both  the  old  and  new  mills 
was  put  in,  so  that  the  rapacity  of  the 
establishment  now  is  900  barrels  a  day. 

They  had  increased  the  capital  of  the 
company,  meanwhile,  in  1882,  to  $100,- 
ooo,  and  again,  in  1888,  to  $500,000,  and 
had  built,  besides  the  new  mill,  a  grain 
elevator  of  400,000  bushels  capacity,  rig- 
ged with  separators,  conveyors,  steam 
shovel  and  other  facilities  to  receive  5,000 
bushels  an  hour  and  to  discharge  an  equal 
quantity  in  the  same  time.  They  have  in 
the  new  building  also  a  twenty-five  barrel 
plant  for  milling  rye,  and  half  the  build- 
ing has  been  so  arranged  that  they  can  put 
in  the  additional  equipment  necessary  to 
make  their  capacity  1,200  barrels  of  flour 
daily,  a  step  they  already  contemplate 
taking. 

So  much  for  the  history  of  this  project ; 
now,  as  to  the  equipment  and  product. 
The  new  mill  only  is  run  at  present, 
although  the  old  one  could  be  put  in  oper- 
ation if  necessary.  There  are  in  this  new 
mill  sixteen  double  sets  of  Noye-Stevens 
rolls,  sixteen  Jonathan  Mills  reels  and 
fourteen  other  reels  for  scalping  and 
rescalping,  grading,  etc.  ;  nine  Smith  puri- 
fiers with  Prinz  dust  collectors  and  two 
extra  dust  collectors  besides ;  forty-nine 
stands  of  elevators,  two  bran  dusters,  one 
Homes  &  Ewell  magnetic  separator,  two 
Silver  Creek  centrifugals,  aspirating  fans, 
stock  hoppers,  unlimited  shafting,  pulleys, 
etc.,  four  Silver  Creek  flour  packers,  and 
three  Stevens'  automatic  scales,  and  the 
necessary  cleaning  machinery  and  receiv- 
ing separators,  scourers,  polishers  and 
cockle  machines  of  the  latest  pattern. 

The  motive  power  is  furnished  by  a 
compound  condensing  engine  of  350  horse 
power  and  the  requisite  boiler  capacity. 
The  mill  is  lighted  by  an  electric  plant  of 
225  lights.  It  is  adjacent  to  the  wharves 
and  shipping  and  has  its  own  side  track. 
The  elevator  is  chiefly  used  by  the  mills, 
but  is  at  the  service  also  of  grain  dealers 
and  shippers. 


Following  are  the  brands  manufactured: 
Kaiser  Auszng,  Tidal  Wave,  Neptune, 
Gulf  Stream,  Thetis,  Sea  Fairy,  Mermaid, 
Edelweiss,  Sea  Nymph,  Undine,  Jewel, 
Melite,  Sea  Pearl,  Hera,  Rye  Flour, 
Pumpernickel  and  Graham.  The  wheat 
used  is  obtained  in  Texas,  Kansas, 
St.  Louis  and  California.  The  jobbers 
of  Galveston  and  Houston  are  nearly  all 
supplied  by  this  mill.  It  has  quite  an 
export  trade  to  Gulf  coast  markets  and 
would  have  a  big  West  India  business 
also  if  there  were  shipping  facilities  avail- 
able. 

The  officers  of  the  company  and  prin- 
cipals in  its  management  are  J.  Reymer- 
shoffer,  president ;  G.  Reymershoffer, 
vice-president,  secretary  and  treasurer ;  F. 
J.  Becker,  head  miller;  J.  C.  Kirschner, 
chief  clerk ;  R.  Hayes,  chief  engineer. 
The  partners  in  the  commission  house  of 
J  Reymershoffer's  Sons,  which  has  offices 
at  the  mills  (Center  and  Water  streets), 
are  John  and  Gus  Reymershoffer.  They 
are  the  owners  of  the  Reymershoffer 
building,  corner  of  Mechanic  and  Twenty- 
second  streets,  and  of  other  valuable 
property  here ;  and  Mr.  J.  Reymershoffer 
is  a  director  of  the  Galveston  Wharf  Co., 
the  First  National  Bank,  and  of  the  new 
Galveston  Cotton  and  Woolen  Mills. 

THE  GALVESTON  OIL  MILLS,  covering 
the  entire  square  bounded  by  Strand, 
Water,  Seventeenth  and  Eighteenth 
streets,  and  part  besides  of  another,  are 
the  property  of  an  association  which  has 
other  large  mills  at  Dallas,  Houston, 
Waco,  Palestine,  Paris  and  Corsicana. 
Those  here  are  operated  by  a  stock  com- 
pany of  which  B.  Adoue  is  president,  and 
J.  L.  Kane  secretary.  J.  F.  Jaques  is 
superintendent  of  them.  Fully  $300,000 
is  invested  in  the  Galveston  plant  of  this 
company.  The  mill  building  is  one  of 
the  largest  structures  in  the  city  and  the 
equipment  is  a  superior  one. 

It  has  capacity  to  work  150  tons  of  cot- 
ton seed  a  day,  from  which  the  product  is 


108 


THE   CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


100  barrels  of  oil  and  50  tons  of  cake. 
Nearly  all  this  is  exported,  the  oil  to  all 
parts  of  the  world,  the  cake  chiefly  to 
Germany  and  England  for  use  as  stock 
feed.  Considerable  fertilizer  is  also  pro- 
duced in  the  shape  of  refuse  hulls.  Sacks 
are  furnished  planters  and  the  standard 
price  is  paid  by  the  company  for  cotton 
seed.  The  works  have  a  large  gin  house 
attached,  and  Till  told,  employ,  during  the 
cotton  season,  probably  220  hands,  whose 
wages  make  no  small  fraction  of  the  cir- 
culating medium  here.  Indeed  the  mill 
is,  from  the  value  of  its  product,  and  its 
permanent  character,  one  of  the  most 
beneficial  of  the  manufacturing  concerns 
of  Galveston  to  all  classes,  laboring  and 
commercial,  in  the  city. 

THE  LEE  IRON  WORKS,  corner  of 
Thirty-second  and  Avenue  G  or  Winnie 
street,  is  the  largest  foundry >  in  both  the 
city  and  State.  The  buildings  and  plant 
of  these  works  cover  half  the  block  on 
which  they  are  located,  and  this  area,  150 
by  300  feet,  is  built  up  two  stories  high. 
The  works  are  equipped  with  the  full 
complement  of  labor  saving  and  mechan- 
ical devices,  machine  lathes,  rollers, 
cranes,  punches,  etc.,  have  a  Sellers'  pat- 
ent steam  hammer,  pattern  shop,  and 
every  facility  known  to  the  trade.  They 
have  tools  suitable  for  both  heavy  and 
light  work,  for  architectural,  steamship 
and  railroad  iron  work  and  for  saw  mill, 
cotton  press  and  sugar  mill  building ;  also 
for  repairing  steam  engines  and  boilei's  of 
all  kinds.  They  do  more  work  for  the 
Texas  and  Western  Louisiana  sugar  dis- 
tricts and  for  the  shipping  frequenting  this 
port,  than  any  of  their  competitors.  The 
foundry  at  these  works  has  ten  tons  a  day 
capacity.  About  $50,000  is  invested  in 
this  plant,  and  sixty  hands  are  regularly 
employed  in  them. 

These  works  had  their  inception  in  a 
small  venture  made  here  about  the  close 
of  the  war  by  three  expert  mechanics, 
C.  B.  Lee,  D.  Weber  and  Joshua  Miller. 


Ten  years  later  they  had  made  enough  to 
buy  the  plant  of  what  was  known  as  the 
Close  Foundry ;  this  they  removed  to  the 
place  now  occupied  by  "  the  Lee."  These 
same  parties  are  the  firm  of  C.  B.  Lee  & 
Co.,  proprietors  of  the  works.  Mr.  Lee 
is  the  managing  member  of  the  firm. 
Mr.  Weber,  who  is  a  moulder  by  trade, 
superintends  the  foundry,  and  Mr.  Miller 
the  pattern  and  machine  shops. 

As  the  patentee  of  the  Lee  Ice  Machine, 
Mr.  Lee  has  acquired  the  business  of  the 
Neptune  Ice  Company,  an  enterprise 
described  on  page  109  of  this  chapter. 
He  is  also  interested  in  real  estate  here, 
and  is  now  serving  his  third  term  as  an 
alderman  of  the  city.  Mr.  Weber  has 
real  estate  investments  also,  acquired 
during  the  long  and  successful  operation 
of  these  works  by  himself  and  associates, 
and  Mr.  Miller  likewise  is  well-to-do. 

JESSE  ASTALL'S  West  Strand  Iron 
Works,  were  established  by  him  in  1866 
and  have  been  enlarged  by  him  from  time 
to  time  since.  He  had  been  in  business 
before  the  war,  but  the  peculiar  conditions 
prevailing  here  after  hostilities  were  fairly 
commenced,  forced  him  to  abandon  his 
trade.  Starting  again  then  when  peace 
was  restored,  he  has  built  himself  up  a 
handsome  business,  not  only  as  machinist 
and  founder,  but  as  a  dealer  in  mill,  rail- 
road and  plantation  supplies.  He  has 
$25,000  or  more  invested  in  the  business, 
and  has  sales  of  proportionate  character 
and  volume.  Amongst  other  goods  and 
wares  of  his  line  handled  by  him,  the 
following  are  his  specialties:  iron  pipe 
and  fittings,  valves  and  couplings,  steam 
and  hand  pumps  and  injectors,  vises, 
tongs,  jet  pumps,  hose,  belting  and  pack- 
ing, pulleys  and  hangers,  flue  cleaners, 
engines  and  boilers.  Any  of  these  he  can 
furnish  as  promptly  and  as  cheaply  as  any 
house  in  Texas. 

Mr.  Astall's  place  is  located  on  Strand 
street  between  Twenty-sixth  and  Twenty- 
seventh. 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


109 


THE  NEPTUNE  ICE  FACTORY,  estab- 
lished in  1883  by  Alderman  C.  B.  Lee  of 
the  Lee  Iron  Works,  and  R.  F.  George, 
has  since,  by  incorporation,  passed  into  the 
possession  of  a  stock  company  of  which 
J.  H.  Forbes,  confectioner  of  Market 
street,  is  president  and  W.  B.  Wallis  real 
estate  agent,  secretary,  but  Mr.  Lee  still 
retains  his  interest  and  operates  the  place 
as  lessee  of  the  plant  and  proprietor  of 
the  business.  He  is  the  patentee  and 
manufacturer  of  the  absorption  machinery 
for  making  ice,  with  which  the  works  are 
equipped,  machinery  notable  from  the 
fact  that  it  was  the  first  used  to  make  ice 
successfully  from  salt  water. 

When  the  company  was  organized  the 
equipment  was  improved  and  the  capacity 
of  the  works  enlarged.  There  are  now 
three  ten  ton  machines  in  daily  operation. 
In  connection  with  the  ice  house  two  large 
refrigerating  rooms  of  ample  capacity 
have  been  prepared  for  cold  storage,  and 
beer,  meats,  cheese,  butter  and  other  per- 
ishables, can  thus  be  preserved  here  at 
reasonable  charges.  During  the  summer 
this  company  finds  it  necessary  to  employ 
about  twenty  hands,  and  three  delivery 
wagons  are  run  the  year  round.  The  fac- 
tory is  at  Eighteenth  street  and  Avenue  A. 

Mr.  Lee  has  been  a  resident  of  Galves- 
ton  for  thirty-four  years  and  a  business 
man  and  manufacturer  of  the  city  since 
1865.  He  is  one  of  the  proprietors  of 
the  Lee  Iron  Works,  the  largest  here,  and 
is  now  serving  his  fellow  citizens,  at  their 
solicitation,  for  the  third  time  as  Alder- 
man. The  invention  and  practical  appli- 
cation of  this  ice  machinery,  the  ability 
displayed  by  him  in  the  conduct  of  his 
iron  works,  during  twenty-five  years  past, 
and  in  the  affairs  entrusted  him  as  a  local 
legislator,  stamp  him  a  man  of  superior 
intelligence,  enterprise  and  judgment. 

THE  TEXAS  ICE  AND  COLD  STORAGE 
Co.  is  successor  to  the  business  of  the 
Texas  Ice  Co.,  who,  with  their  connections 
in  other  Southern  ports,  have  been  the 


largest  dealers  in  Northern  ice  in  the  South 
for  years.  Since  the  successful  issue  of 
the  artesian  borings  here,  however,  the 
importation  of  New  England  ice  has  prac- 
tically been  abandoned,  and,  fortified  with 
a  natural  flow  of  about  300,000  gallons  a 
day,  or  600,000  when  the  pump  is  applied, 
the  equipment  of  this  company  for  manu- 
facture of  ice  is  ample  for  all  ordinary 
purposes.  This  equipment  (two  H.  D. 
Stratton  absorption  machines — one  fifteen 
and  the  other  twenty-five  tons  daily  ca- 
pacity,) gives  them  facilities  sufficient  for 
the  production  of  forty  tons  a  day,  and 
they  have  storage  capacity  for  twenty-five 
car-loads.  They  employ  twenty  hands  the 
year  round  and  do  the  largest  ice  business 
in  Texas. 

Ice  is  sold  in  car  lots  by  this  company, 
and  special  rates  are  made  for  large  quan- 
tities. It  is  delivered  also  throughout  the 
city.  The  company  is  agent  also  for  the 
Anheuser-Busch  Brewing  Co.,  of  St. 
Louis,  the  largest  brewers  in  this  country, 
and  the  one  producing,  unquestionably, 
the  best  beverage  of  the  kind  made  in 
America.  The  company  has  $100,000 
capital  stock  and  is  located  at  Twentieth 
street  and  avenue  A.  Besides  $12,000 
spent  to  get  its  water  supply,  more  than 
three  times  that  amount  was  expended  on 
the  equipment  for  ice  making  and  cold 
storage,  for  which  latter  business  a  special 
department  has  been  prepared,  so  as  to 
accommodate  dealers  in  perishables  here. 

The  officers  of  the  company  are  Capt. 
Charles  Fowler,  agent  here  of  the  Morgan 
Line  of  steamers,  president;  B.  Adoue, 
of  Adoue  &  Lobit,  bankers,  vice-presi- 
dent;  W.  C.  Ansell,  secretary  and  treas- 
urer. Mr.  Ansell  conducts  the  business. 
He  has  been  in  the  ice  trade  for  the  past 
twenty  years. 

G.  B.  MARSAN  &  Co.,  dealers  in  fresh 
fish  and  oysters,  Market  street,  between 
Nineteenth  and  Twentieth,  pack  daily, 
during  the  season,  about  40,000  oysters. 
These  are  mainly  shipped  in  tin  cans  or 


110 


THE   CITY  OF   GALVESTON. 


wooden  pails  to  Texas  points,  and  to  the 
principal  cities  in  Kansas,  Colorado,  New 
and  Old  Mexico  and  Arizona.  They 
employ  thirty  hands  and  do  upwards  of 
$50,000  business  a  year,  more  than  any 
other  concern  in  the  oyster  trade  here. 
Their  fish  trade  is  also  considerable. 

The  oysters  are  obtained  in  Galveston 
bay  and  along  the  adjacent  coast,  and  are 
considered  as  good  as  any  in  the  land. 
They  are  furnished  the  firm  by  oystermen 
who  own  small  craft  and  are  engaged 
regularly  in  supplying  this  market.  They 
are  the  natural  produce  of  these  shores, 
no  cultivation  having  as  yet  been  at- 
tempted, although  the  State  grants  sixty 
acres  free  to  all  who  will  undertake  prop- 
agation of  the  much  esteemed  bivalve  of 
the  prolific  Gulf  coast. 

Mr.  Marsan,  who  established  the  bus- 
iness of  this  house  in  1867,  died  in  1887, 
and  his  partner,  Peter  Tiboldi,  succeeded 
him.  Mr.  John  Puppo  afterward  acquired 
an  interest  in  the  business  with  Mr. 
Tiboldi.  The  latter  gives  his  attention  to 
the  accounts  and  office  business,  and  Mr. 
Puppo  looks  after  the  outside  affairs. 

CHAS.  S.  OTT'S  marble,  granite,  tile 
and  building  stone  works  on  Center  street 
(Twenty-first),  between  Mai'ket  and 
Mechanic,  are  the  longest  established  of 
the  kind  in  the  State.  They  were 
founded  by  A.  Allen  &  Co.,  in  1843. 
Mr.  Ott  was  a  partner  with  Allen,  and 
succeeded  him  in  1883.  He  makes  a 
specialty  of  monumental  and  cemetery 
work,  contract  stone  work  and  of  im- 
ported and  domestic  tiles,  and  has  three 
men  on  the  road  in  Texas,  selling  and 
taking  orders  for  him,  and  among  other 
workmen,  expert  sculptors,  carvers  and 
designers.  His  business  last  year  in  all 
three  lines  aggregated  $80,000. 

He  executed  the  contracts  for  the  stone 
work  on  the  Galveston  News  building, 
Samson  Heidenheimer's  and  Leon 
Blum's  residences,  the  Ball  school  and 
the  John  Sealy  hospital,  which  are  as  fine 


structures  as  any  in  the  city,  and  cut  and 
erected,  among  other  notable  monuments, 
the  Governor  Davis  monument  at  Austin, 
a  Gothic  shaft,  40  feet  high,  that  cost 
$7,000,  the  John  Sealy  monument,  in 
the  new  cemetery  here,  an  Egyptian  obe- 
lisk 33  feet  high,  and  others  as  costly.  The 
B.  R.  Davis,  Hartley  and  Cronican 
monuments,  the  most  costly  and  con- 
spicuous in  the  cemeteries  of  Galveston 
are  also  his  work,  and  he  was  entrusted 
with  the  work  of  setting  up  the  Kopferl 
monument  here,  which  was  made  in  Italy, 
and  is  one  of  the  finest  memorial  groups 
in  any  American  burial  place. 

Mr.  Ott  is  a  Kentuckian,  but  has  lived 
here  nearly  all  his  life.  He  has  been 
doing  an  excellent  business  for  years,  and 
has  investments  and  interests  outside  his 
business. 

J.  W.  BYRNES,  manufacturer  of  paving 
blocks  and  dealer  in  coal  tar  and  roofing 
material,  has  offices  with  the  Galveston 
Artesian  Well  Co.,  Post  Office  street, 
between  Twenty-sixth  and  Twenty- 
seventh.  His  warehouse  and  factory  is 
at  Avenue  A  and  Twentieth  street.  He 
has  branch  establishments  also  at  Hous- 
ton, San  Antonio  and  Fort  Worth. 

His  plant  here  comprises  a  $25,000 
mill  for  sawing  mesquite  and  cypress 
paving  blocks,  and  a  coal  tar  distillery. 
He  is  an  importer  of  West  India  asphalt 
and  deals  in  roofing  paints,  and  is  a  con- 
tractor for  roofing  work  and  street  paving. 
The  business  streets  of  Galveston  were 
paved  by  him.  He  has  been  a  resident 
here  since  1872,  and  has  been  in  this  line 
of  business  here,  and  in  New  Orleans, 
for  the  last  20  years. 

Mr.  Byrnes  is  engaged  in  a  number  of 
other  enterprises  here  also,  several  of 
which  have  been  already  described. 

J.  T.  McCo.MACK,  plumber  and  gas- 
fitter,  has  been  located  here  in  that 
business  for  the  past  twenty-five,  years. 
He  came  here  from  New  Orleans,  of 
which  place  he  is  a  native.  At  present 


THE  CITY    OF  GALVESTON. 


Ill 


he  is  devoting  much  of  his  time  to  his 
work  at  the  residence  of  Geo.  Sealy,  on 
Broadway,  an  illustration  of  which  is  in 
another  chapter  of  this  volume.  Other 
notable  work  has  been  done  by  Mr. 
McComack  for  the  residences  of  Mr.  J. 
H.  Hutchings,  Col.  W.  L.  Moody,  H.  M. 
Trueheart,  Mrs.  Sarah  C.  Ball,  the  Ball 
High  School  building,  Harmony  Hall,  the 
Court  House  and  Jail,  and  Moody  building, 
nearly  all  of  which  are  illustrated  in  this 
work.  Mr.  McComack' s  office  is  at  his 
residence  on  E.  Broadway,  No.  557. 

THE  GALVESTON  SHOW  CASE  FACTORY, 
Avenue  A,  between  Twenty-third  and 
Twenty-fourth  streets,  is  to  be  fitted  up 
shortly  with  a  full  complement  of  ma- 
chinery for  the  manufacture  of  show 
cases.  This  step  has  been  of  pressing 
importance  for  some  time.  The  business 
increases  so,  year  in  and  year  out,  that 
hand  labor  is  no  longer  equal  to  the 
demands  made  upon  the  concern. 

Mr  C.  Emme,  proprietor  of  this  place, 
began  business  eight  years  ago.  He  is  a 
native  of  the  city  and  a  cabinet  maker  by 
trade.  He  occupies  two  floors,  one  used 
as  the  office  and  factory,  the  other  as  a 
packing  and  store  room.  Three  salesmen 
traveling  throughout  Texas  and  Western 
Louisiana  represent  him  on  the  road.  He 
maintains,  for  orders  to  be  filled  at  once, 
a  stock  of  considerable  variety. 

Louis  E.  SIEN'S  Island  City  Cornice 
and  Ornamental  Works,  Market  street 
between  Twenty-third  and  Twenty-fourth, 
was  established  by  him,  with  a  partner,  in 
1880.  The  next  year  he  bought  his  part- 
ner out  and  has  since  continued  the 
business  alone.  He  has  about  twenty 


hands  regularly  employed,  and  does  more 
cornice  work  than  any  one  here.  The 
iron  cornice  of  the  City  Hall,  the  Rosen- 
berg school,  Beach  Hotel  and  the  John 
Sealy  hospital  here,  of  the  Central  depot 
at  Houston,  and  the  City  Hall  at  Laredo, 
is  his  work,  and  he  has  executed  contracts 
for  points  as  remote  as  those  of  Arizona. 
He  has  a  shop  force  also  making  cans  for 
the  trade  here,  and  he  also  contracts  for 
slate  roofing.  In  this  last  named  line  he 
has  done  work  on  the  City  Hall,  the 
schools,  and  other  public  structures  here, 
and  has  given  entire  satisfaction. 

In  connection  with  his  other  business 
he  is  also  engaged  as  a  dealer  in  stoves, 
tinware,  crockery  and  house  furnishings, 
and  has  sufficient  business  to  employ  two 
delivery  wagons. 

Mr.  Sien  is  a  native  of  Illinois,  but  he 
came  to  Texas  in  1869  and  having  been 
located  here  for  ten  years,  he  is  entirely 
identified  with  the  city  in  spirit  and 
sentiment  as  well  as  in  business  affairs. 

R.  H.  JOHN'S  Galveston  Steam  Trunk 
Factory  was  established  thirteen  years 
ago!  It  occupies  the  three  upper  floors, 
42  x  loo,  of  the  building  at  2216  and  2218 
Market  street,  opposite  the  Tremont 
Opera  House,  and  has  all  the  drummers' 
trade  of  the  city.  Fine  work  is  his 
specialty,  and  about  a  dozen  hands  are 
regularly  employed  by  him  on  trunks  and 
sample  cases. 

This  factory  is  one  of  the  finest  in  the 
South.  Mr.  John  started  here  without 
capital  and  has  built  up  a  State  trade. 
He  is  also  owner  of  a  similar  establish- 
ment at  48  Franklin  street,  Houston,  that 
known  as  John's  Trunk  Factory. 


THE  STATE  OF  TEXAS. 


INTRODUCTORY    COMPARISONS. 


HE  story  of  Texas  should 
be  familiar  to  every 
American.  Not  alone  for 
the  superlative  spirit  of  the 
defenders  of  the  Alamo, 
unparalleled  even,  as  its 
memorials  declare,  by  that 
desperate  resistance  of  Ther- 
mopylae, which  had  one  messenger  of 
defeat,  while  the  Alamo  had  none.  Nor 
yet  for  the  triumph  of  Liberty  upon  the 
tearless  field  of  San  Jacinto.  For  it  is  but 
an  example  of  the  eternal  fitness  of  things 
that  prodigies  should  precede,  and  such 
Titanic  throes  as  these  attend  the  birth  of 
such  a  State.  But  as  much  for  the  wise 
abnegation  of  its  founders,  when  they 
renounced  the  honors  of  a  precarious  sov- 
ereignty for  the  more  substantial  advan- 
tages of  federation,  and  as  well  for  the 
enlightened  course  they  pursued  with 
respect  to  education  and  their  public 
domain.  For  their  prescience,  in  fact,  as 
to  all  the  interests  of  their  posterity. 

And  while  many  fine  and  graphic  epi- 
thets have  been  applied,  and  many  bold, 
and  not  a  few  ingenious  comparisons  been 
drawn,  to  illustrate  the  grandeur  of  the 
State  of  Texas,  but  few  of  these  descrip- 
tives  quite  contrive  to  do  the  subject  jus- 
tice. For  comparisons  and  epithets,  it  is 
evident,  and  marshallings  of  phrases  are 
as  inadequate  to  depicture  this  majestic 


State — already  in  its  exuberance  of  re- 
source, as  in  stupendous  length  and 
breadth,  the  State  of  States,  not  to  speak 
of  what  it  will  be  in  the  ripening  fullness 
of  time — as  they  are  to  image  that  glorious 
epopee  of  the  Lone  Star  Republic — of  the 
Alamo  of  San  Antonio  de  Bexar,  of  San 
Jacinto,  of  Milam,  and  Bowie,  and  Crock- 
ett, and  Travis,  and  Houston,  by  which 
and  by  whom  this  incomparable  tempor- 
ality was  confirmed  to  the  all-conquering 
Anglo-Saxon  domination  forever. 

The  son  of  this  soil   may  be  pardoned, 
then,  the  State  pride  that  determines  him 
to  preserve,  undivided   and  undiminished 
and   inviolate,  his  blood-bought   heritage 
of  Mother  Earth  ;  a  heritage  which  has  the 
breadth  of  ten  degrees  of  latitude  and  the 
length   of  fourteen  of  longitude ;   which, 
before  the  last  admissions,  measured    the 
fourth  part  of  the  Federal  Union,  and  is 
yet,  excluding  polar  Alaska,  an  eighth  of 
the  whole — 274,356  square  miles,  175,587,- 
840  acres,  three-quarters  of  it  susceptible 
of  agricultural  or  pastoral  production,  and 
besides  that  three-quarters,  a  mineral  area 
larger  than   all  Pennsylvania,   and   more 
timber  lands  than  the  whole   of  Indiana. 
Which  has  more  grazing  lands  than   all 
Kentucky,  more    tobacco  lands    than    all 
Virginia,  more  wheat  lands  than  all  Min- 
nesota, more  sugar  lands  than  all  Louis- 
iana— enough,  indeed,  the  experts  say,  to 
provide  four  times  what  this  country  con- 
sumes— more  cotton  lands  than  all  Missis- 
sippi, and  more  lands  equally  well  adapted 


114 


THE   CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


to  cotton,  to  grain,  or  to  fruits,  than  any 
one  of  these  has  all  told.  Which  has  a 
coast  line  of  700  miles,  whereon  and  along 
must  be  located  the  embarcaderos  for  the 
surplus  products  of  the  vast  plains  west 


TEXAS    CYPRESS    SWAMP. 


of  the  Mississippi  and  east  of  the  Rock- 
ies, peopled  already  with  ten  millions  of 
busy  souls.  Which  might  sustain  in 
abundance  the  sixty  million  people  of  the 
nation  and  as  many  opulent  and  powerful 
cities  as  the  country  has  now ;  or  might 
raise,  upon  its  broad  and  fertile  acres,  fif- 
teen million  bales  of  cotton  to  clothe  the 
world,  and  feed  fifty  millions  of  people 
besides. 

Which  is  very  much  larger  than  either 
Italy,  or  France,  or  Germany,  and  con- 
siderably greater  in  area  than  Austria- 
Hungary,  richer  in  all  the  natural 
endowments  that  give  to  these  their  com- 
manding position  in  the  industries,  fuller 


of  every  resource  but  population,  and  with 
a  more  even  climate  than  any  of  them, 
Italy,  perhaps,  excepted.  Which  could 
support,  as  well  as  these,  the  pomp  and 
power  of  Caesars.  Which  has  the  splen- 
did attributes,  in  short,  of  Nature's 
own  most  favored  realms  and  em- 
pires. 

AGRICULTURAL    DIVISIONS. 

TIME  has  dissipated  many  popular 
fallacies  with  respect  to  Texas. 
The  extension  of  railroads,  the 
spread  of  population,  the  dissem- 
ination of  information  through  news- 
papers and  bureaux  of  immigration, 
have  corrected  abroad  many  erro- 
neous impressions  of  its  social  con- 
ditions and  climate,  and  of  the 
distribution  of  its  arable  areas, 
concerning  which  last  matter  but 
dim  ideas  prevailed,  until  very  re- 
cent times,  within  the  State  itself. 
The  accreting  asssessed  valuations 
of  the  State,  largely  due  to  the  in- 
creased acreage  in  Western  Texas 
farms,  is  convincing  to  the  man 
who  is  open  to  conviction,  that  even 
the  supposed  desert  of  the  Staked 
__  Plain  the  Llano  Estacado  of  the  old 
geographies,  all  its  ancient  Spanish 
land-marks  obliterated  by  the  plow, 
will  respond  to  tilth  with  any  equal  acreage 
of  older  States.  And  every  day  brings 
fresh  disclosures  of  unsuspected  fruitful- 
ness  in  newly  furrowed  grounds.  Certain 
it  is  that  if  Texas  has  not,  as  predominating 
features,  the  interminable  fens  and  im- 
penetrable everglades,  with  their  rank 
profusion  of  primitive  JJora,  that  distin- 
guish the  Louisiana  and  Florida  lowlands, 
nor  at  the  other  extreme  the  Heaven-kiss- 
ing hills  and  Pelions  piled  on  Ossas  of 
Colorado  and  California,  it  has  still  no 
lack  of  scenic  diversity,  and  all  the  less  of 
waste  and  barrens. 

Texas  may  be  roughly  described  as    a 
vast  plain  of  irregular  contour,  extend in^ 


THE  CITY  OF  QALVESTON. 


115 


northwesterly  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
with  an  extreme  length  of  700,  and 
"breadth  of  500  miles,  and  rising  from  the 
sea  —  imperceptibly,  almost,  over  so  great 
a  length  —  to  an  elevation,  at  its  farthest 
inland  limits,  of  2,500  feet.  The  Sabine 
river  separates  it,  in  large  part,  from 
Louisiana  on  the  east,  the  Red  river  from 
Arkansas  and  Indian  Territory  on  the 
north,  and  the  Rio  Grande  from  Mexico 
on  the  south  and  southwest.  As  to  its 
physical  features,  it  may  be  broadly  parti- 
tioned into  three  distinct  divisions — the 
flat  region  of  coast  lands,  50  to  150 
miles  wide ;  the  middle  district  of 
undulating  prairies,  200  to  300  miles 
wide,  and  the  higher  and  broader 
western  prairies,  broken  somewhat 
in  the  southwest  by  the  spurs  of  the 
Mexican  mountains.  From  an  agri- 
cultural standpoint,  these  divisions 
are  sometimes  increased  to  six — the 
southern  coast,  the  timbered  uplands 
of  East  and  Central  Texas,  the  cen- 
tral black  lands,  the  northwestern 
red  loam  lands,  the  western  and 
northwestern  plains — the  latter  fur- 
ther distinguished  as  the  "Pan- 
handle of  Texas" — and  the  allu- 
vions of  the  Brazos  and  other  rivers  ; 
which  rivers  have  little  navigable 
utility,  but  are  extremely  serviceable 
as  drainage  system  for  the  eastern 
half  of  the  State,  through  which,  for 
the  most  part,  they  lead. 

The  State  has  a  temperate  and  a 
more  uniform  climate  than  its  sub- 
tropical position  and  vast  area  seem- 
ingly denote.  As  between  the  north- 
ernmost and  southernmost  points  in 
the  State,  the  variations  are  naturally 
greatest.  Districts  open  to  the  full 
draft  of  the  dry  north  wind  are  the 
coolest.  Fort  Elliott,  in  the  Pan- 
handle, is  one  of  these  ;  Denison,  on 
Red  river,  another.  Eagle  Pass,  on  the 
Rio  Grande,  enjoys  distinction  as  the 
hottest  place  in  the  State.  The  coast 


counties  have  a  mean  annual  average  of 
53  degrees ;  the  State,  as  a  whole,  of  60. 
The  influence  of  the  Gulf  moderates  the 
climate  of  all  Texas,  and  over  it  the 
periodic  "  Norther  "  of  the  winter  season 
is  seldom  forceful  enough  to  prevail. 
The  State,  in  its  entirety,  is  remarkably 
healthful,  and  the  high  prairies  of  the 
West  have  an  atmosphere  that  is  espe- 
cially dry  and  pure. 

The  annual  rainfall  varies  from  fifty 
inches  or  so  along  the  coast,  to  forty  in 
the  central  region  of  the  State,  and  four- 


COTTON    PLANTATION,   INTERNATIONAL    RAILROAD,  TEXAS. 

teen  or  sixteen  in  the  extreme  West. 
The  belt  of  twenty  to  twenty-five  inches 
of  rainfall  reaches  nearly  to  the  western 


116 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


confines  of  the  State,  and  those  districts  of 
the  Pan-handle  and  Staked  Plains,  for- 
merly mistakenly  considered  too  arid  for 
cultivation,  it  has  been  discovered,  have 
a  more  seasonable  and  larger  rainfall  than 
Colorado,  New  Nexico,  Wyoming,  West- 
ern Nebraska  and  a  great  deal  of  Dakota, 
Montana  and  the  Pacific  Slope.  Water, 
too,  has  been  found  almost  everywhere 
immediately  beneath  the  surface,  so  that 
the  problem  of  irrigation  is,  in  many 
parts  of  the  so-called  dry  lands,  almost 
ready-solved. 

The  most  compactly  settled  farming 
region  of  Texas  is  that  lying  east 
and  north  of  the  Colorado  river. 
The  characteristic  of  the  coast  line  of  the 
State  is  its  long  sand-barred  lagoons,  in 
many  places  especially  favorable  for 
.  oyster  plantations,  a  fact  just  beginning  to 
be  appreciated.  Broad  savannas  afford- 
ing excellent  pasturage,  as  well  as  swamp 
and  timbered  tracts,  are  features  of  the 
coast  lands.  The  rich  district  of  the 
"Sugar  bowl"  of  Texas  lies  just  south- 
west of  Houston  and  Galveston,  and  it  is 
said  that  $15,000,000  is  invested  in  cane 
growing  and  allied  industries  thereabouts. 

The  Central  Black  Prairie  Lands 
stretch  from  Red  river  southwest  to  the 
vicinity  of  San  Antonio,  in  a  belt  140 
miles  wide  at  the  north,  100  in  the  middle 
and  50  to  60  at  the  south.  In  this  agri- 
cultural division  are  Dallas,  Fort  Worth, 
Austin,  Waco,  and  other  forward  cities 
of  the  State,  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
cotton  crop  of  the  State  is  raised  in  it. 

The  Northwestern  Red  Lands  com- 
prise in  large  part  the  Pan-handle.  South 
and  west  of  this  region,  and  west  of  the 
Colorado  river,  which  flows  through 
Southeastern  Texas,  is  the  STOCK  REGION, 
much  of  which  also  is  largely  susceptible 
of  cultivation,  and  over  which  the  envious 
husbandman  already  casts  a  longing  eye. 
The  counties  North  and  Northwest  of 
San  Antonio  are  considered  particularly 
well  suited  for  sheep-raising. 


PRODUCTION    AND    VALUATIONS. 

THE  CROP  REPORT  OF  TEXAS  for  the 
year  ending  August  315!  last,  is  a  suffi- 
cient measure  of  the  productiveness  of 
these  several  regions.  Texas  produced 
during  that  year  1.300,000  bales  of  cotton 
valued  at  $75,750.000;  75,500,000  bushels 
of  corn,  $28,500,000;  18,800,000  bushels 
of  oats,  $5,350,000;  5,000.000  bushels  of 
wheat.  $4,250,000;  potatoes,  worth  $3,- 
000,000;  hay,  $2,750.000;  fruits,  $2,300, - 
ooo ;  sugar  and  molasses,  $2,200,000; 
garden  products,  $2,100,000;  miscella- 
neous farming  staples,  such  as  honey, 
wine,  etc.,  $1,400,000;  and  in  addition 
sheared  16.982,245  pounds  of  wool 
valued  at  $3.603,406,  from  3,466,678 
sheep;  slaughtered  261,550  head  of  stock 
worth  $2,615,500;  shipped  625.000  head 
of  cattle  worth  $12,500,000,  and  25.500 
horses  and  mules  worth  $1,530,000,  a 
grand  total  of  nearly  $148,000,000, — 
more  than  the  agricultural  production  of 
the  six  New  England  States,  Maryland 
and  Delaware  together.  MR.  JULIUS 
RUNGE,  president  of  the  Galveston  Cot- 
ton Exchange,,  who  speaks  with  the 
authority  of  large  experience,  estimates 
the  market  value  of  the  products  of  the 
soil  of  Texas  for  the  crop  season  of 
'89- '90  at  $170,000,000. 

Or  the  wealth  of  the  State  may 
be  taken  as  a  measure  of  its  fruitfulness. 
The  assessed  valuation  for  the  year  1889, 
shown  by  the  official  summaries  of  the 
tax  rolls  were:  Real  estate,  $480.1^.- 
007 ;  personal  property,  $249,040,577,  a 
total  of  $729,175,564,  an  increase  of 
assessed  values  of  nearly  $50,000.000  in  a 
single  year,  of  $202,000,000  since  1883 
and  of  $507,000,000  since  1871.  As  the 
tax  assessment  is  considered  generally 
equivalent  to  little  more  than  fifty  per 
cent  of  the  real  value  of  the  property 
assessed  and  what  escapes  taxation,  these 
figures  may  be  doubled  without  over- 
stating the  truth  ;  that  is  to  say,  Texas  has 


118 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


CATTLE   RANCH   ON   COLORADO   RIVER, 
SOUTHWEST   TEXAS. 

$960,270,014  of  real  estate  and  $498,081,- 
154  of  personal  property,  or  $1,458,- 
351,168  total  valuation,  an  increase  of 
$100,000,000  in  the  last  year  and  of 
$404.000,000  in  the  last  seven.  In  1879 
the  assessed  valuations  of  Kentucky,  then 
the  foremost  Southern  State,  were  $318,- 
ooo.ooo ;  of  Virginia,  $308,000,000,  and 
of  Texas,  $304,000,000.  In  the  race  for 
precedence,  Texas,  in  accretions  of  wealth 
as  in  population,  has  fairly  distanced 
both  these  competitors. 

These  figures  show  the  average  wealth 
per  capita  of  2,300,000  people  in  the 
State  to  be  about  $634.  The  summarized 
tax  roll  exhibits  a  levy  against  115,869,464 
acres  of  farming  land,  valued  at  $335,- 
000,000;  town  lots,  $125,000,000;  7,700 


miles  of  railroads,  $59,000,000;  7,261,- 
769  head  of  cattle,  $47,603,363  ;  1,357,- 
358  horses  and  mules,  $36,650,260; 
goods,  wares  and  merchandise,  $29,- 
000,000;  lands  of  non-residents  (in 
back  counties  unorganized),  $20,000,- 
ooo;  manufacturers'  tools,  material, 
etc.,  $9,800,000;  money  on  hand, 
$13,682,371;  sheep,  4,280,111  head, 
$5,032,293;  hogs,  1,120,947;  goats, 
544,538,  and  8,594  jacks  and  jennets, 

$2,761,635- 

The  State  has 
for  it,  the  nomi- 
nal bonded  in- 
debtedness of 

$4'237>73°>  and 
has  a  surplus  in 
^^C;::  1^*:  its  treasury.  Its 
w  tax  rate,  twenty  cents 
on  the  $100,  ad  va- 
lorem, twelve  and  a  half 
cents  school  tax,  fifty  cents  State 
revenue  poll  and  $i  school  poll, 
would  produce,  upon  the  assessment  of 
last  year,  nearly  $3,000,000  of  revenue,  a 
sum  ample  for  all  the  expenses  of  govern- 
ment, which  thus  far  has  been  economi- 
cally administered. 

As  a  body  politic,  it  has  assets,  consist- 
ing of  public  lands,  county  bonds  and 
school  moneys,  of  nearly  $200,000.000. 
Its  farm  mortgages  are  only  $25,000,000, 
as  compared  with  $701,000,000  in  Ohio, 
$620,000,000  in  Illinois,  and  $350,000,000 
in  Michigan,  and  less  than  those  of  any 
other  growing  State.  There  are  8,500 
miles  of  railroads  in  the  State,  which,  :it 
the  low  valuation  of  $25,000  a  mile,  are 
worth,  in  the  aggregate,  $467,500,000. 

LANDS    FOR    SALE    AND    SETTLEMKN  I  . 

THE  lands  available  for  settlement 
in  Texas  are  first,  those  open  to  pre- 
emption ;  second,  railroad  and  State 
capital  grants  now  in  market ;  third,  the 
State  schooMands,  and  fourth,  those  of 


THE   CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


119 


private  owners.  Within  the  first  three  of 
these  classes  some  64,000,000  acres  are 
comprised,  a  domain  twice  as  large  as  the 
State  of  New  York.  Not  all  this  is  pur- 
chasable, but  there  is  certainly  a  sufficiency 
for  choice.  By  the  terms  of  her  admis- 
sion to  the  Union,  Texas  reserved  all  her 
public  lands,  and  has  disposed  of  some 
32, 000,000  acres  in  aid  of  railroads,  and 
3,000,000  acres  to  the  syndicate  that  built 
the  imposing  pile  of  the  new  capitol  at 
Austin. 

The  State,  says  Land  Commissioner 
Hall,  has  about  25,000,000  acres  of  com- 
mon school  lands  for  sale,  of  which, 
perhaps  500,000  acres  is  valuable 
for  the  timber  on  it.  It  has  also 
4,000,000  acres  subject  to  pre-emp- 
tion. The  settler  on  these  latter 
must  have  the  lands  he  takes  up  sur- 
veyed and  recorded  at  the  general 
land  office,  and  must  occupy  and 
improve  them  for  three  consecutive 
years.  The  whole  cost  of  survey- 
ing and  land  office  fees  is  about  $11. 
The  price  of  the  school  lands  is : 
Dry  grazing  and  agricultural,  $2  an 
acre ;  watered  lands,  $3  an  acre ; 
timbered  lands,  $5.  Payments  ex- 
acted for  agricultural  and  grazing 
lands  are  one-fortieth  cash,  balance 
in  thirty-nine  years,  with  interest  at 
five  per  cent.  Timber  lands  are  cash, 
and  minerals  found  on  school  lands 
are  reserved  to  the  State.  The  State 
has  no  tide  lands  for  sale.  The 
school  lands  are  situated  in  all  parts 
of  the  State,  but  chiefly  in  the  south- 
ern, western  and  northern  parts  of  it. 

Extensive  tracts  owned  by  private 
parties  are  in  the  market,  at  prices 
approximating,  where  they  are  in 
the  same  neighborhood,  those  of  the 
State  lands.  Time  sales  are  very 
commonly  made  by  these  proprie- 
tors. The  following  Galveston  land 
owners  and  dealers  have  such  lands 
for  sale :  The  Lasker  Real  Estate 


Association,  page  49  of  this  work  ;  H.  M. 
Trueheart  &  Co.,  page  52  ;  Seabrook  W. 
Sydnor,  page  54;  Hardy  Solomon  & 
Co.,  page  53;  Blagge,  Bertrand  &  Co., 
page  54,  and  the  Leon  &  H.  Blum  Land 
Co.,  page  82. 

GAI.VESTON'S  INFIELD  DESCRIBED. 

THE  commerce  of  the  port  of  Galves- 
ton, like  the  tide  of  a  mighty  river,  is 
derived  from  a  thousand  minor  streams 
that  combine  to  swell  its  current.  The 
ramifications  of  the  city's  traffic,  more 
especially  of  its  importing  and  exporting 


EAST   TEXAS    FARM,   INTER- 
NATIONAL   RAILROAD. 


120 


THE  CITY  01    GALVESTON. 


establishments,  may  thus  be  traced  to  the 
remotest  parts  of  the  far  West  and  South- 
west, throughout  all  which  region  are  the 
innumerable  springs  of  trade  supplying 
its  tributaries. 

('  But  the  city  has  a  pi'ovince  of  its  own — 
an  infield  rich  enough,  if  its  rare  resources 
were  but  half  developed,  to  sustain  a 
Galveston  of  itself.  If  a  semi-circle  be 
described  inland  from  Galveston  as  a 
center,  with  a  radius  of  a  hundred  miles, 
it  will  include  within  it  the  whole  of  ten 
counties  of  the  State  and  parts  of  as  many 
others.  The  ten  it  comprises  in  whole, 
are  the  agricultural  and  timbered  counties 
of  Chambers,  Jefferson,  Liberty  and 
Orange,  north  and  northeast  of  the  city; 
Galveston  county,  Harris,  and  the  Sugar 
Bowl  of  Texas,  the  counties  of  Brazoria, 
Fort  Bend,  Wharton  and  Matagorda, 
west  and  southwest  of  it. 

The  railroads  that  center  at  Galveston 
traverse  several  of  these  counties  and 
and  branch  out  into  others,  but  their  navi- 
gable waters,  as  in  that  fruitful  district  of 
Tidewater  Carolina  and  Virginia,  known 
as  the  Atlantic  Garden,  obviate  largely 
the  necessity  of  these  artificial  highways. 
Galveston,  Chambers  and  Harris  counties 
between  them  encompass  Galveston  bay, 
and  the  Sabine,  Neches,  Trinity,  Brazos 
and  Colorado  rivers,  re-enforced  by 
numerous  large  bayous,  pass  through  the 
rest  on  their  way  to  the  sea.  In  respect 
of  the  facility  with  which  most  of  these 
dependencies  can  be  reached  by  water 
routes,  the  insular  position  of  Galveston, 
which,  perhaps,  deprives  it  of  some  retail 
trade  with  the  country  surrounding  it,  is 
thus  a  positive  advantage. 

Galveston  county  comprises,  besides 
Galveston  island,  about  500  square  miles 
of  the  mainland.  The  three  trunk  lines 
that  have  their  termini  in  the  city,  pass 
through  it.  It  is  sparsely  populated  out- 
side the  city,  but  lately  the  highlands 
across  the  bay  from  the  metropolis,  have 
been  the  scene  of  some  speculation  in 


realty,  that  may  lead  to  their  settlement. 
Three  bayous  water  it.  Onlv  about 
10,000  acres  of  it  are  timbered.  The  soil 
generally  is  a  sandy  loam.  Some  cotton 
is  grown,  but  truck  farming  for  the  city 
markets  is  most  in  favor.  Peaches,  pears, 
melons  and  small  fruits  are  easily  raised. 

The  populous  city  of  Houston,  seated 
well  to  the  south,  in  Harris  county,  usurps 
a  large  share  of  its  trade  ;  but  the  south- 
eastern parts  of  it,  lying  on  the  west  side 
of  Galveston  bay,  and  reached  from  Gal- 
veston by  the  Clinton  ship  channel,  are  trib- 
utary to  the  city.  This  district  is  chiefly  a 
cattle  country,  but  it  has  also  many  farms. 

Chambers  county  covers  850  square 
miles  and  is  separated  from  the  Gulf  by 
Bolivar  peninsula,  a  spit  of  land  attached 
to  Galveston  county.  Fully  a  quarter  of 
the  surface  of  Chambers  is  timbered,  and 
only  an  eighth  of  its  arable  area  is  im- 
proved lands.  The  soil  is  a  dark  gray 
loam,  averaging  of  crop  product  half  a 
bale  of  cotton  to  the  acre,  or  twenty-five 
bushels  of  corn,  or  in  cane,  two  hogs- 
heads. Grapes,  oranges,  figs  and  other 
tender  fruits  are  successfully  grown.  The 
county  is  largely  prairie,  carpeted  with 
native  grass,  and,  pastured  upon  it,  cattle, 
horses,  sheep  and  hogs  are  easily  and 
cheaply  reared.  Sea  island  cotton  would 
grow  along  the  shores  of  the  bay,  and  rice 
in  the  sedgy  lands.  The  population  of 
Chambers,  at  last  accounts,  was  3,000,  a 
third  of  them  colored.  The  tax  rate  is  65 
cents  on  the  hundred.  There  are  48,000 
acres  of  school  lands  for  sale  in  the  county. 

Liberty,  adjoining  Chambers  on  the 
north,  is  very  much  like  it  in  appearance 
and  character.  It  is,  as  a  rule,  a  prairie 
expanse  with  woodland  along  the  streams, 
and  is  chiefly  a  range  for  lowing  herds. 
It  has  forests  of  pine,  and  cypress  brakes. 
from  which  lumber  and  cord  wood  and 
shingles  are  freighted  to  Galveston  by 
small  craft,  and  while  these  resources 
appreciate  as  they  do,  its  growth  must 
continue  apace. 


122 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTOK 


Jefferson  and  Orange  abut  Louisiana  at 
the  southeastern  extremity  of  Texas.  The 
Sabine  river  partitions  the  great  Calcasieu 
lumber  district  of  Louisiana — which  prac- 
tically extends  over  into  them — and  is 
their  eastern  boundary,  and  the  Neches  is 
the  dividing  line  between  them.  They 
lie  in  the  greatest  lumber  district  of  the 
the  Southwest,  and  they  send  vast  quanti- 
ties of  lumber  and  timbers  to  market  on 
the  Galveston  levees,  by  the  water  passage 
of  both  rivers,  and  the  estuaries  of  Sabine 
lake  and  pass.  They  have  connection 
also  by  two  lines  of  rail,  links  of  the 
Southern  Pacific,  and  to  Galveston, 
another  is  projected. 

Jefferson  covers  1,200  square  miles,  of 
which  75,000  acres  is  clothed  with  the 
finest  pine,  oak,  cypress,  ash  and  hickory 
timber.  Its  15,000  acres  of  improved  lands 


are  valued  at  $2  to  $5  an  acre  ;  its  531,635 
acres  of  unimproved  lands,  seven-eighths 
of  them  prairie,  at  $i  an  acre.  It  has 
75,057  acres  of  school  lands  unsold.  Its 
soil  is  a  black,  sandy,  producing  a  half 
to  two  bales  of  cotton  to  the  acre,  or  forty 
bushels  of  corn.  Oranges,  bananas  and 
figs  can  be  raised  with  little  trouble. 
Salt  has  been  found  in  the  county.  The 
population  of  Jefferson  is  3,600,  two- 
thirds  of  them  colored.  The  assessed 
valuations,  usually  reckoned  a  half  of  the 
real  equivalent  of  the  property  taxed,  are 
$2,103,892  ;  the  tax  rate  is  _]_'  '-,•  cents  on 
the  hundred. 

Orange  county  differs  from  Jefferson  in 
the  fact  that  but  a  tenth  of  its  4,000  people 
are  colored.  It  is  much  like  it  otherwise, 
however,  in  its  characteristics  of  soil  and 
products,  and  owing  to  the  fact  that  it  is 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


123 


more  densely  forested,  the  price  of  its 
lands  is  somewhat  higher.  Beaumont,  in 
this  county,  is  the  great  seat  of  the  lumber 
traffic  of  this  part  of  the  country. 

While  Brazoria  is  considered  the  choic- 
est of  all  the  Sugar  Bowl,  a  sketch  of  it 
will  approximately  describe  the  whole 
quaternion ;  for  they  are  nearly  alike  in 
soil,  in  products,  and  the  golden  possibili- 
ties they  afford  the  planter.  Fort  Bend  is 
the  smallest  of  the  four ;  Brazoria  slightly 
the  largest.  It  covers  about  forty  miles 
square  of  prairie,  divided  unequally  by 
the  winding  course  of  the  Brazos,  and 
is  intersected  by  streams  whose  banks  are 
umbrageous  with  native  sylva  of  many 
kinds.  Along  these  streams  are  sugar 
and  cotton  and  corn  lands  as  prolific  as 
any  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  It  is  not  too 
much  to  expect  that  when  capital  has 
been  applied  to  bring  this  district  under 
thorough  cultivation,  it  will  enrich  the 
city  in  greater  degree  than  all  the  rest  of 


its  surroundings.  Steamers  ascend  the 
Brazos  as  far  as  Columbia,  thirty  miles 
inland,  and  connect  there  with  a  branch 
of  the  International  railroad ;  the  Santa 
Fe  takes  its  northward  course  through 
Brazoria  and  Fort  Bend,  and  the  Southern 
Pacific  through  both  Fort  Bend  and 
Wharton. 

The  four  counties  of  the  sugar  belt  of 
Texas  embrace  2,000,000  acres  of  alluvial 
lands  especially  adapted  to  the  growth  of 
the  sugar  cane.  They  are  all  abundantly 
provided  with  fuel-woods  for  use  in  boil- 
ing sugar.  The  results  attained  in  this 
industry  here,  quite  equal  the  best  in  the 
lowlands  of  Louisiana.  The  business  is 
conducted  chiefly  on  as  large  a  scale  and 
the  system  pursued  is  much  the  same.  One 
plantation  in  Fort  Bend  county,  with  9,000 
acres  in  cane,  has  $325,000  invested  in  its 
lands  and  plant.  It  has  425  employes — 
convicts  mostly,  hired  from  the  State — 
and  works  a  hundred  teams  in  the  season. 


SHEEP    RANCH,    MIDLAND    TEXAS. 


124 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


Its  daily  expense  is  $700.  It  produced, 
last  year,  3,000,000  pounds  bf  sugar  and 
1,016,500  gallons  of  syrup,  all  which  was 
taken  by  one  Galveston  house. 

Unimproved  lands  in  the  Sugar  Bowl, 
suitable  for  cane  culture,  are  worth  $3  to 
$10  an  acre,  according  to  location.  Lands 
with  improvements  and  a  milling  equip- 
ment, are  worth  $20  an  acre  and  upwards. 
Some  lands,  with  proper  drainage  and 
cultivation,  produce  two  hogsheads  to  the 
acre.  The  cost  of  preparing  land  for  cane 
is  about  $5  an  acre ;  of  the  seed  cane, 
$20  an  acre.  A  planting  will  last,  with 
proper  care,  four  years.  For  cultivation, 
$7  an  acre  is  estimated,  and  for  cutting 
and  manufacturing,  about  $10  an  acre. 
Conducted  with  judgment  and  vigor, 
sugar  making  can  be  made  the  most 
profitable  business  of  the  State.  There 
are  lands  enough  for  it,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Galveston,  to  supply  vastly  more  than  the 
consumption  of  the  Union. 

TIMBER,       MINES,       MANUFACTURES        AND 
HARBORS. 

THE  most  valuable  pine  forests  of 
Texas  lie  mostly  between  the  Trinity  river 
and  the  eastern  State  line.  There  are 
other  extensive  forests  of  pine  in  Eastern 
Texas,  but  their  woods  are  of  an  inferior 
merchantable  quality.  The  demand, 
already  large,  of  the  treeless  counti'y'  west 
and  northwest  of  this  supply,  and  of 
Northern  Mexico,  makes  it  of  more  than 
ordinary  importance.  It  was  estimated, 
in  1880,  that  of  long  leaf  pine  alone,  these 
Eastern  Texas  forests  had  twenty  billion 
feet  standing,  and  that  besides,  there  were 
other  pine  woods  making  the  timbered 
area  of  Texas  twice  as  large  as  that  of 
Alabama  and  Mississippi  combined. 
Hardwood  timbers  likewise  abound  in 
many  parts  of  Eastern  Texas.  The 
timbered  acreage  of  the  State,  at  last 
accounts,  was  46,302,000  acres;  the  tim- 
ber standing,  of  all  kinds,  67,508,500,000 
feet. 


The  advancement  of  Texas  in  manufac- 
tures has  been  nearly  as  notable  as  in 
agriculture  ;  but,  until  recently,  the  enter- 
prise displayed  in  this  direction  was  chiefly 
that  prompted  by  local  exigencies,  and  no 
attempt  had  been  made  to  explore  its 
mineral  areas  in  the  interest  of  its  indus- 
tries. The  State,  however,  has  now 
undertaken  a  thorough  geological  survey, 
and  the  preliminary  investigations  of  its 
bureau,  disclose  already  as  amazing  an 
affluence  of  dormant  resource  within  the 
bowels  of  the  land,  as  there  is  to  be 
garnered  upon  its  surface.  In  addition  to 
the  petroleum,  and  salt,  and  guano,  and 
gypsum,  and  fire  clay  deposits,  the  gran- 
ite, marble  and  other  valuable  building 
stones  of  the  State,  discovery  has  been 
made  of  silver  and  gold,  and  of  natural 
gas  and  iron  fields  and  copper  ledges  of 
extraordinary  magnitude,  and  three  great 
coal  beds,  one  in  the  center  of  the  State, 
having  20,000  square  miles  area,  one  on 
the  Rio  Grande  of  3,700  square  miles, 
and  a  third  underlying  fifty-four  counties, 
have  been  defined. 

DALLAS  and  FORT  WORTH  have  already 
awakened  to  the  prospect  of  manufactur- 
ing eminence  unfolded  for  them  by  the 
iron  and  coal  .beds  lying  in  juxtaposition 
in  the  counties  west  and  southwest  of 
them.  Capital  in  both  cities  has  embarked 
in  coal  mining  in  these  contiguous  dis- 
tricts, and  in  railroad  projects  to  render 
them  accessible.  SAN  ANTONIO  and  Ars- 
TIN,  both  of  which  Nature  has  equipped 
with  available  water  power  sites,  have  a 
vital  interest  in  their  development ;  and 
the  progress  of  LAREDO  has  been  vastly 
accelerated  by  the  special  advantage  that 
city  enjoys,  of  coal  mines  adjacent. 

THE  STATE,  in  the  last  decade,  has 
passed  through  a  stage  of  transition.  It  is 
still  largely  an  agricultural  and  pastoral 
commonwealth,  but  it  has  been  fruitful 
also  in  these  maturing  years,  of  important 
mechanical  industries.  By  the  census  of 
1880,  Texas  had  $9,250,000  invested  in 


126 


THE  CITY   OF  GALVESTON. 


manufactures,  and  an  annual  product  of 
$20,000,000.  It  is  to  be  within  bounds  to 
say  that  these  figures  have  doubled  since. 
The  tax  assessment  of  last  year,  on  manu- 
facturing plants,  implements  and  materials 
alone,  in  Texas,  was  $9,855,427  itself. 

In  the  list  of  the  State's  productions, 
lumber  is  third.  At  a  convention  of  the 
lumber  men  of  the  State,  held  recently  at 
San  Antonio,  a  capitalization  of  $100,- 
000,000  was  represented.  The  cotton 
seed  oil  mills  of  Dallas,  Palestine,  Hous- 
ton and  Galveston  rank  among  the  largest 
in  capacity,  of  the  country.  Cotton  and 
woolen  mills  have  lately  been  established 
at  several  points  in  Texas — one  at  Dallas, 
and  another,  just  receiving  its  finishing 
appointments,  at  Galveston.  Local  organ- 
izations of  capital  are  prosecuting  both 
these  ventures.  Fort  Worth,  Denison 
and  Laredo  are  undertaking  concerns  of 
the  same  kind.  Refrigerating  and  beef 
packing  plants  have  been  put  in  operation 
at  Victoria  and  Fort  Worth,  by  the  Stock- 
men's syndicate,  and  one  is  contemplated 
also  for  Galveston.  The  flour  mills  of 
Fort  Worth,  Dallas  and  Galveston  are  of 
the  first  order  of  equipment. 

There  are  unlimited  Opportunities 
afforded,  throughout  the  State,  for  other 
manufacturing  concerns  :  In  the  pine  and 
cypress  and  furniture  woods  and  building 
stones  of  the  State ;  in  the  countless 
beeves  and  the  profusion  of  fish  and  oys- 
ters and  fruits  for  canning  and  packing; 
in  a  superfluous  store  of  hides  for  tanning, 
and  incidentally  for  the  pi'oducts  of 
leather ;  in  a  superabundance  of  bone  and 
horn ;  in  iron  and  copper  and  salt  and  oil 
and  sugar  and  coal  and  water  powers. 
Galveston,  with  its  facilities  as  a  market 
for  foreign  and  domestic  coals,  its  ample 
supply  of  excellent  water,  its  cheap  sites, 
and  its  shipping  conveniences  by  land  and 
sea,  is  an  inviting  spot  for  such  enter- 
prises, and  quite  a  number  have  been 
founded  there  of  late. 

The    configuration    of     the     continent 


clearly  establishes  the  Texas  coast  region 
as  maritine  province  for  all  the  great 
West  beyond  the  Mississippi.  Commerce 
already  clamors  for  ports  along  the  Gulf. 
But  Nature,  lavish  of  her  bounties  of  soil 
and  climate  and  mineral  wealth,  has  been 
niggard  of  havens  for  the  white  winged 
messengers  of  the  deep  blue  sea.  Accord- 
ingly the  work  of  harbor  construction  has 
been  undertaken  at  four  points  on  the 
shores  of  the  State:  At  Sabine  Pass,  on 
the  dividing  line  between  Louisiana  and 
Texas,  so  as  to  make  a  roadway  for  the 
vast  lumber  traffic  of  the  great  forests  of 
both  States ;  at  GALVESTON,  which  is 
assured  the  rank  of  a  port  of  the  first  class, 
with  thirty  feet  of  water,  by  special  appro- 
priation of  government  funds ;  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Brazos,  where  private  capital 
is  engaged  in  making  a  ship  channel,  and 
at  Aransas  Pass  (terminus  of  the  San 
Antonio  &  Aransas  Pass  Railroad,  and 
very  nearly  too  of  the  Mexican  National), 
for  which  project  the  government  is 
sponsor  also.  The  time  is  not  far  distant 
when  the  avenues  between  the  trade  cen- 
ters of  twenty  States  and  Territories  west 
of  the  Father  of  Waters,  and  the  great 
world  beyond  seas,  will  be  shortened  from 
200  to  1,900  miles,  or  an  average  of  650. 

POPULATION,    CITIES,    SCHOOLS. 

Texas  has  a  population  variously  esti- 
mated, pending  the  national  census  of 
1890,  between  the  figures  2,300,000  and 
2,700,000.  The  State  has*  been  peopled 
largely  by  a  steady  migration  into  it,  from 
all  the  older  and  more  crowded  States. 
This  colonization  has  proceeded  of  late  at 
a  rate  equaling  the  settlement  of  the 
Northwest  a  few  years  back.  And  these 
homogeneous  accessions  have  immensely 
expedited  growth.  With  it  the  lesser 
foreign  admixture,  chiefly  frugal  and 
thrifty  Germans,  has  been  all  the  more 
readily  assimilated.  The  Spanish-Amer- 
ican clement  of  .San  Antonio  and  the 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


127 


border  is  fairly  lost  in  the  stream  of 
humanity  now  dispersed  over  all  the 
State,  and  the  negro,  proportionately  less 
numerous  than  in  any  of  the  old  slave 
States,  is  likewise  less  here  of  an  impedi- 
ment to  progress. 

Although    Western    Texas     is    rapidly 
settling  up,  the  great  bulk  of  the  popula- 


tion of  the  State  is  massed  in  the  district 
about  250  miles  wide,  extending  the  length 
of  its  Eastern  border.  In  this  division 
was  raised  the  million  and  a  third  bale 
cotton  crop  of  1889,  and  its  diversified 
industries  sustain,  as  in  old  Spain,  seven 
notable  cities,  the  port  of  Galveston, 
Houston  at  tidewater,  San  Antonio  and 


FOREST    PRIMEVAL,   EAST   TEXAS. 


128 


THE  CITY  OF  GALVESTON. 


Fort  Worth,  the  outermost  ot  the  seven, 
Waco,  the  most  central,  Austin,  the  State 
capital,  and  Dallas.  The  aggregate  pop- 
ulation of  these,  by  the  State  reports  of 
'87,  was  200,000.  It  is  very  likely  now 
100,000  more.  Others  there  are  also  of 
minor  but  growing  importance,  Denison, 
Sherman,  Paris  and  Gainesville,  chiefly 
among  them.  The  border  towns  of 
Laredo  and  El  Paso  are  also  rapidly 
attaining  to  prominence.  The  rapid  met- 
ropolitanization  of  these  rising  cities  of  the 
State  is  a  manifestation  of  the  energy,  in- 
telligence and  forward  aspiration  of  Texas. 
The  Texan  has  doubtless  acquired  a 
certain  individuality  from  his  environment. 
The  race  does  everywhere.  But  as 
between  the  settled  portions  of  the  State 
and  its  sisters  of  the  Union  generally,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  define  the  differ- 
ences there  are  of  social  aspects.  The 
same  spirit  of  respect  for  law,  religion, 
opinions,  pervades  the  mass  here,  as  there. 
As  liberal  support  is  given  to  press, 
schools  and  institutions.  The  household 
gods  and  domestic  virtues  are  as  generally 
cherished.  And  as  all  traces  of  the  war  are 
now  obliterated,  so  also  sectional  spirit  is 
blotted  entirely  out.  Other  issues — issues 
of  greater  concern  to  Texas,  demand  con- 
sideration. And  the  very  speed  of  its  evo- 
lution the  more  rapidly  antiquates  the  past. 


The  public  school  system  of  the  State 
was  established  by  the  foresight  of  the 
fathers  of  the  Lone  Star  RerAiblic,  which 
preceded  it,  upon  a  most  enduring  foun- 
dation. The  reservation  of  lands  for  public 
education  is  3,542,400  acres  granted  the 
various  counties  and  29,000,000  held  by 
the  State,  which,  valued  at  $2.50  an  acre, 
is  $81,355,000.  Besides  this  there  is 
invested  in  land  notes,  bonds,  and  cash, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  schools  and  universi- 
ties of  the  State,  $19,700,000,  so  that  the 
State's  school  fund  is  over  $100,000,000, 
a  munificence  that  accords  with  its  own 
material  grandeur. 

The  pro  rata  expenditure  by  the  State 
last  year  for  schools  was  $4  a  head,  or 
$2,182,460  for  the  545,616  children  of 
school  age  in  the  State.  About  seventy- 
five  per  cent  of  these  attend,  and  12,000 
teachers  are  retained  to  instruct  them. 
The  Texas  University,  located  at  Austin, 
and  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  Col- 
lege, situated  at  Bryan,  have  their  own 
endowment  funds,  and  the  State  maintains 
two  Normal  schools,  the  "  Sam  Houston," 
at  Huntsville,  for  whites,  and  a  colored 
institute  at  Prairie  View.  Permanent 
provision  has  been  made  also  for  public 
asylums  for  the  blind,  the  deaf  and 
dumb,  the  orphans,  and  the  lunatics  of 
the  State. 


INDEX  TO  GALVESTON  TOPICS. 


Adoue  &  Lobit,  bankers 45 

Aggregate  jobbing  business 16,  77 

Aggregate  manufacturing  production 99 

Aguilo,  J.  B.  &  Co.,  commission  merchants 88 

American  National  Bank 43 

Angell,  C.  E.  &  Co.,  insurance 57 

Ansell,  W.  C.,  Manager  the  Texas  Ice  &  Cold  Storage 

Co 109 

Arrivals  and  departures  of  transient  vessels 63 

Art,  letters,  music,  etc 27,  28 

Astall,  Jesse,  iron  works 108 


Baldinger  Bros.,  crockery 96 

Ball,  Hutchings  &  Co.,  bankers 44 

Ball  School,  The 22,  23 

Banks  of  Galveston 40 — 49 

Bar  of  Galveston  Harbor 64 

Bay  of  Galveston  described 5,  65 

Beach  at  Galveston 10 

Beers,  Kennison  &  Co,  insurance  agents 57 

Blagge,  Bertrand  &  Co.,  real  estate  and  insurance 54 

Blum,  Leon  &  H.,  dry  goods  dealers  and  cotton 

factors 81 

Blum,  the  Leon  &  H.  Blum  Land  Co 82 

Brown,  the  J.  S.'Brown  Hardware  Co 88 

Browne,  Edmond,  slater  of  Houston  and  Galveston 94 

Building  Improvements 55 

Byrne,  R.  T.,  agent  the  Mutual  Reserve  Fund  Life 

Association 60 

Byrne  &  Jones 93 

Byrnes,  J.  W.,  paving  contractor  and  roofing  works.,100,  110 


Cannon,  F.  &  Co.,  importers,  grain  shippers  and  com- 
mission merchants 86 

Capital  in  manufactures 16,  99 

Capital  in  wholesale  trade 16,  77 

Christie,  G.  R.,  agent  the  Protection  Oil  Co 95 

Citizens  Loan  Co.,  The 47 

City  government •. 18 

Clarke,  Chas.  &  Co.,  stevedores  and  contractors 67 

Clayton,  N.  J.,  architect 55 

Coastwise  trade  of  Galveston 62 

Colored  population  of  the  city 18,  22 

Compresses  of  Galveston 74 

Conyngton  Business  College,  and  the  Texas  Phono- 
graph Co 26,27 

Cotton  trade  of  Galveston 74 

Coutant,  J.  W.,  manufacturers'  agent 87 

Cross,  T.  L.  &  Co.,  ship  chandlers 73 

D 

Dalian,  Chas.,  wholesale  liquors...., 95 

Davis,  B.  R.  &  Co.,  furniture  dealers 96 

Description  of  the  city 5 — 30 

Dun,  R.  G.  &  Co.'s  Mercantile  Agency,  E.  H.  Gorse, 

manager 98 


PAGE. 

Emme,  C.,  Galveston  Show  Case  Factory Ill 

Equitable  Life  Insurance  Co.,  Ladd  M.  Waters  &  Bro. 

agents 58 

Exports  of  Galveston 16,  63 

Exline  &  Gruendler,  the  Galveston  Wool  Scouring 

Mills 104 


Facilities  of  the  port 63 

Fire  department,  Galveston 19,  56 

First  National  Bank 42 

Foreign  Commerce  of  Galveston 63 

Fowler,  Capt.  Chas.,  agent  the  Morgan  Steamship 

line 13,71 

G 

Galveston  Artesian  Well  Co 18, 100 

Galveston  Bagging  &  Cordage  Factory 103 

Galveston  Coal  Co.,  The,  F.  C.  Jeffery,  manager 94 

Galveston  Cotton  &  Woolen  Mills 102 

Galveston  harbor 5,  65 

Galveston  in  history 10—17 

Galveston  National  Bank 41 

Galveston  Oil  Mills,  The 107 

Galveston  packing  companies 99 

Galveston's  back  country 119 — 124 

Galveston's  future 17 

Galveston  Show  Case  Factory,  C.  Emme,  proprietor...  Ill 

Galveston  Steamship  &  Lighter  Co 66 

Galveston  Wool  Scouring  Mills,  Exline  &  Gruendler, 

proprietors 104 

Goggan,  Thos.  &  Bro.,  pianp  and  music  house 28,  89 

Gorse,  E.  H.,  manager  R.  G.  Dun  &  Co 98 

Government  work  in  progress  at  the  entrance  to  Gal- 
veston harbor 5,  65 

Grain  shipments  inaugurated 64 

Gulf,  Colorado  &  Santa  Fe  railroad 36 

Guinard,  C.  M.  &  Co.,  insurance :. 58 

H 

Hardy  Solomon  &  Co.,  real  estate *. 53 

Hawley   &   Heidenheimer,    importers  of  coffee  and 

dealers  in  sugar 86 

Health  and  sanitation 17 

Holmes,  C.  D.,  grocer  and  ship  chandler 98 

Hotels  of  Galveston 30 

Houston  &  Texas  Central  R.  R 35 

Hutchings,  J.  H.,  of  Ball,  Hutchings  &  Co.f. 44 


Imports  of  Galveston 16 

Insurance  agents  of  Galveston 57 

International  &  Great  Northern  R.  R 31 

Island  City  Cornice  &  Ornamental  Works,  L.  E.  Sein, 

proprietor Ill 

Island  City  Manufacturing  Co.,  Sass  &  Weis,  proprie- 
tors    101 

Island  City  Savings  Bank,  The 43 

Island  of  Galveston  described 6 


130 


INDEX, 


John,  R.  H.,  trunk  factory Ill 

Jeffery,  F.  C.,  Manager  the  Galveston  Coal  Company...    94 


Ladd,  W.  F.  &  Co.,  cotton  buyers 76 

Lammers  &  Flint,  cotton  and  wool  factors 76 

Lasker  Real  Estate  Association,  The 49 

Large  jobbing  concerns  of  Galveston 7,  77 

Leith,  L.  C.  &  Co.,  coal  dealers 69 

Lee  Iron  Works,  The 108 

Levy,  J.  &  Bro.,  stablemen  and  undertakers 97 

Levy,  M.  M.,  manufacturers'  agent 86 

Lighterage  at  Galveston 66 

Living  at  Galveston 29 

Loan  agencies,  Galveston 47 

Ivt 

Mallory  line  of  steamers,  J.  N.  Sawyer  &  Co.,  agents    70 

Marsan,  J.  B.  &  Co.,  oyster  packers 109 

Marwitz,  H.,  ship  chandler  and  grocer 73 

McComack,  J.  J.,  plumber 110 

Menard,  J.  M.  O.  &  Co.,  insurance 57 

Mensing  Bros.  &  Co.,  factors  and  grocers 7,  80 

Holler,  J.  &  Co.,  ship  agents 68 

Moody,  W.  L.  &  Co.,  bankers  and  cotton  factors,  45,  46,  47,  53 
Morgan  Steamship  Line  and  Houston  Direct  Naviga- 
tion Co.,  Capt.  Chas.  Fowler,  agent 71 

Mutual  Reserve  Fund  Life  Association  of  N.  Y.,  R.  T. 

Byrne,  agent 60 

N 

National  Bank  of  Texas,  W.  L.  Moody,  president 42 

Neptune  Ice  Co.,  The 109 

New  banking  concerns 40 

New  cotton  mills 102 

New  manufacturing  enterprises 99 

New  rope  walk 99 

Newspapers  of  Galveston 27 

New  York  steamship  lines 71 

Nicolini,  Capt.  C.,  ship  chandler  and  grocer 73 


Opportunity  for  manufactures  at  Galveston 99, 124 

Ott,  Chas.  8.,  marble  works 110 


PA<;E. 

Redfield,  the  Redfield  Co.,  building  material 94 

Resorts  of  Galveston 19 

Reymershoffer,  J.  Reymershoffer's  Sons,  grain  com- 
mission    107 

Rice,  Boulard  &  Co.,  paints,  oils,  etc 85,  86 

Rogers,  J.  S.,  manager  the  Texas  Co-operative  Associ- 
ation     's 

Rosenberg,  H.,  banker -'-'.  t" 

Rosenfield,  J.,  wholesale  notions 85 


Sawyer,  J.  N.  &  Co.,  agents  the  Mallory  line  of  X.  Y. 

steamers 71 

Schadt,  Wm.,  building  material •-• 

Schools  of  Galveston 22 

Schott,  J.  J.,  wholesale  and  retail  draggist 97 

Sealy,  George,  of  Ball,  Hutchings  &  Co 45 

Sealy.  the  John  Sealy  hospital 29 

Sein,  L.  E.,  the  Island  City  Cornice  Works Ill 

Ship  agents  of  Galveston 68 

Society  and  people  of  Galveston - 

Sorley,  James  Sorley,  Stubbs  &  Co.,  insurance  agents..  ~>s 

St.  Mary's  Infirmary 2 

Street  railroads  of  Galveston 1 

Sugar  trade  of  Galveston 77 

Sweeney  &  Co.,  stevedores ('>7 

Sydnor,  SeabrookW.,  real  estate 54 


Taxes,  revenue  and  debt • 1 

Taylor  Compress  Co '4 

Texas  Co-operative  Association,  P.  of  H.,  J.  S.  Rogers, 

manager s 

Texas  Ice  &  Cold  Storage  Co.,  W.  C.  Ansell,  manager..  109 

Texas  Land  &  Loan  Co.,  The 47 

Texas  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company 8 

Texas  Phonograph  Co : 

Texas  Star  Flour  Mills,  The 105—107 

Trade  in  transit,  Galveston 16 

Tramp  steamships 

Truck  Farms  of  the  Island 

Trueheart,  H.  M.  &  Co.,  real  estate 52 


Ursuline  Convent,  The. 


Pagoda  Baths,  The 19 

Palmer  &  Rey,  type  founders  of  San  Francisco,  O. 

Paget,  agent 96 

Park  &  McRae,  coal  dealers 94 

Perkins,  A.  J.  &  Co.,  lumber  dealers 92 

Pollard,  W.  H.  &  Co.,  dealers  in  bricks,  lime  and 

masons'  material 92 

Port  charges,  Galveston 66 

Progress  of  Galveston 16 

Proposed  bridge  to  the  mainland 39 

Protection  Oil  Co.,  C.  B.  Pettit  &  Co.,  G.  R.  Christie, 

agent 95 

R 

Railroads  of  Galveston 31 

Ratio,  Lang  &  Weinberger,  wholesale  fruits  and  con- 
fectionery   87 

Real  estate  agents  oi  Galveston 52 

Real  estate  market,  Galveston 50 


Variety  and  diversity  of  Galveston's  manufactures  ..... 
Vessels  registered  at  Galveston  ....................................    63 


Wallis   Landes  &  Co.,  cotton  factors  and  wholesale 

<y* 
grocers  ................................................................. 

Water  supply  ........................................................  17'  " 

Waters,  Ladd  M.  &  Bro.,  agents  the  Equitable  Life 

Insurance  Co  ......................................................    'r> 

Weis  Bros.,  wholesale  dry  goods  ................................  84,  85 

Wholesale  and  jobbing  trade  of  the  city  .......................    1 

Wiley  &  Nicholls,  warehousemen  uiul  transfer  iicontv.    !»7 
Willis,    P.  J.  &  Co.,  dry  goods,  cotton  and   gem-nil 

merchandise  .......................................................    ' 

Wool  trade  of  Galveston  ........................................... 


Zahn,  Justus,  photographer. 


INDEX  TO  TEXAS  TOPICS. 


PAGE. 

Agricultural  divisions  of  Texas 114—116 

Agricultural  productions  of  Texas 11* 

Assessed  valuation  of  Texas 116 

Cattle,  horses  and  sheep  in  Texas 118 

€horography  of  Texas 114 

Cities  of  Texas 127 

Climate  of  Texas 115 

Coast  lands  of  Texas 116,  119 

€oast  line  of  Texas 126 

Cotton  crop  of  Texas 116 

District  adjacent  to  Galveston 119 — 124 

Eastern  Texas  incidentally  mentioned 116, 127 

Endowments  for  Education  and  Eleemosynary  pur- 
poses   128 

Epic  character  of  early  history  of  Texas 113 

Farm  Mortgages  of  Texas 118 

Founders  of  the  Lone  Star  State,  foresight  of. 113,  128 

Fruit  growing  in  Texas 119 

History  of  Texas  referred  to 113 

Homes  for  all  in  Texas 118 

Immigration  into  Texas  and  the  Southwest,  and  its 

character 126 

Incidental  references  to  Texas 4, 10,  30,  52,  100 

Iron  and  coal  in  Texas 124 

Lands  for  sale  and  open  to  pre-emption  in  Texas 118 

Liberal  terms  for  public  landsof  Texas 118 

Magnitude  of  Texas 113 

Market  gardening  opportunities,  Galveston  County 52 

Minerals  of  Texas  and  geological  survey  of  the  State...  124 


PAGE. 

...  114 


Misconceptions  as  to  Texas  corrected 

Panhandle  lands  of  Texas 116 

Population  of  Texas,  estimates  of. 126 

Portsof  the  Texas  coast 126 

Prices  of  Texas  State  and  other  lands 118 

Principal  crops  of  Texas,    and  the  value  of  them  in 

1888,  a  measure  of  its  fruitfulness 116 

Public  domain  of  Texas 118 

Railroad  lands  for  sale  in  Texas 118 

Railroad  mileage  in  Texas 118 

Rainfall  of  Texas 115 

Rivers  of  Texas 115 

School  lands  of  Texas 128 

Seven  cities  of  Eastern  Texas  and  their  progress 127 

Society  in  Texas 127 

Staked  Plain  of  Texas 116 

State  government  economically  administered 118 

State  pride  of  the  Texans 113 

Stock  raising  in  Texas 118 

Sugar  Bowl  of  Texas  and  investment  in  sugar  industry  116 

Tax  rate  in  Texas 118 

Texas  contrasted  with  other  States  and  countries 113 

Texas  land  and  loan  agencies  with  offices  at  Galves- 
ton   119 

Timbered  area  of  Texas 124 

Valuable  forests  of  Texas 124 

Value  of  wool  clip,  1888 116 

Vast  deposits  of  coal  and  iron  in  Texas 124 

Wealth  of  the  State 116 

Western  Texas,  character  of  lands  in 116 


NOTES  AND  CORRECTIONS. 

PAGE  16. — "Output  of  manufactures,  1889,"  should  read,  "  capital  in 
manufactures." 

PAGE  50. — "  Manufactures,"  third  line  second  column,  should  read, 
"  capital  in  manufactures." 

PAGE  62. — The  total  tonnage  clearances  of  1889  were,  492,677;  an 
increase  of  more  than  a  third  over  1888.  The  value  of  cargoes  cleared  in 
'89  was  $51,558,115. 

PAGE  64. — As  to  "grain  shipments  inaugurated,"  credit  should  be 
given  to  J.  Reymershoffer's  Sons  for  70,000  bushels  shipped  last  June. 


lilCm 


etrccm 


By    ANDREW   MORRISON. 


New  Orleans,  La.;  Mobile,  Ala. ;  Galveston  (two  editions),  Dallas  (2), 
-  San  Antonio  (2)  and  Fort  Worth,  Texas ;  Richmond  (2),  Nor- 
folk and  Portsmouth,  Va. ;   Charleston,  S.  C. ;   Atlanta 
and  Savannah,  Ga. ;  Cincinnati,  O. ;  Milwaukee, 
Wis. ;   St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis,  Minn.; 
Denver  and  Pueblo,  Colorado; 
Kansas  City,  Mo. 


Geo.  W.  Engelhardt,  Publisher,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 


JJHjJtJL* 

EDITED     BY  ^f\>J> 

N^fiKlP^W(9 


